DECANTER 97 POINTS - "Guardiola, adjacent to Santo Stefano but higher up the slope, hitting the limit of 1,000m stipulated by the DOC, produced Terre Nere's first wine back in 2002. It was also the first Etna red to include the name of a contrada on the label, and the first to be bottled in a Burgundy-style bottle; an important wine in laying out the direction Etna wines were to go in the following years. After 14 months in French oak barriques and tonneaux, the wine finishes for one month in stainless steel before bottling. Delicate earth, cocoa, spice and dark berry aromas lead to a super-precise, chalky textured palate of wild strawberry, raspberry, wood and spices supported by featherweight yet sturdy tannins and high acidity. Stony on the mid-palate and long in length, this should fill out with age and those lovely wild fruits will gain in succulence."
JAMES SUCKLING 95 POINTS - "This has a dusty nose showcasing notes of vivid red cherries, candied orange peel and pomegranate skins with crushed terra-cotta brick and dried flowers. Textured and polished with dusty tannins that are evenly distributed across the palate and provide a mineral, granite-like presence on the palate, with attractive red fruit underneath. Tense and persistent. Drink or hold."
JAMES SUCKLING 95 POINTS - "This has a dusty nose showcasing notes of vivid red cherries, candied orange peel and pomegranate skins with crushed terra-cotta brick and dried flowers. Textured and polished with dusty tannins that are evenly distributed across the palate and provide a mineral, granite-like presence on the palate, with attractive red fruit underneath. Tense and persistent. Drink or hold."
