Terre Nere Etna Rosso Prephylloxera Don Peppino 2021 Bottle size: 750ml

‘This wine has impressive depth and complexity with an array of red and dark berry flavours mixed with dark chocolate, ground spice and burnt orange peel. All these flavours lie on a bed of smoked, ashy, dark stone and wet asphalt undertones. Full and deep with very fine, silky tannins. So much tension and power here. It lasts for minutes and ends with a seamless, structured finish. From old vines from before the phylloxera plague. Try it now, but it will age beautifully. Best after 2026.’ – James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, 98/100

‘From two parcels of pre-phylloxera vines (over 140 years old) within the estate's rocky four-hectare vineyard in Calderara Sottana, this wine was first bottled in the 2006 vintage after Marco De Grazia decided to vinify these ancient, ungrafted vines separately. Dusty and spicy with just a hint of orange peel overlaying some deep, dark berry scents, in the mouth it has a beautiful expression of sweet, concentrated balsam-laced red and black fruits showing levity and balance on a soft palate. There's floral depth to find here, given focus by the bright acidity, while the fine tannins cradle the succulent, joyous fruit. Persistent and vibrant. 2024-2048’ – James Button, Decanter, 97/100

‘This seamless, graceful red is long and supple, with a subtle, plump juiciness to the range of mulled cherry and dried raspberry fruit, showing notes of fresh loamy earth, dried tea rose and thyme, dark chocolate and smoke. Fine-grained tannins emerge to firm the lasting finish. Drink now through 2036.’ – Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator, 95/100

‘The 2021 Etna Rosso Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino Calderara Sottana is something to behold. The color alone baffles the mind: a translucent ruby that misleads the taster to expect a delicate and lifted effort. This opens slowly in the glass, smoky and intense, evolving with ash and rosemary suggestions. A core of crushed wild berries and exotic spice comes to the fore. It’s deeply textural yet deceptively energetic, with silken waves of dark red fruit that wash across the palate, leaving a salty staining of minerals and savory herbs in their wake. A complex web of fine-grained tannins clamps down hard, balanced by a twang residual acidity, as inner florals and hints of tangerine slowly dissipate. Patience will be required. 2026-2034’ – Eric Guido, Vinous, 95/100