2018 Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Moganazzi Etna Rosso

98% Nerello mascalese, 2% Nerello cappuccio

Moganazzi and Guardiola, with Santo Spirito a close third, have always been considered the finest Crus of the Castiglione di Sicilia township, the largest on the North side of the Etna appellation. Accordingly, in 2007, when a parcel of Moganazzi came for sale, I jumped on it. However, it was so tiny that I decided to bottle its splendid wines – a whopping two barrels! – and dedicate them to a charity project for a children’s hospital, with labels appropriately drawn by a child – my daughter, who began at age two! Three years ago I was able to buy an adjacent parcel and to rent another, which I’m negotiating to buy as I write. Therefore, with the 2017 vintage I began proudly bottling Moganazzi under my Terre Nere label. The vineyard, aesthetically superb, is entirely and steeply terraced at roughly 700 metres altitude with 80 year old vines. The entire production is roughly 3,000 bottles plus some magnums. The wine is brilliant: tightly woven texture, with a luminous and athletic character, a youthful grip and all the effortless beauty of a Greek sculpture. With age the wine’s fine drive gives way to a soft suppleness, a sustained sunset richness; more intimate and resounding