2023 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Rosso Santo Spirito

Santo Spirito sits just down the slope from Guardiola, and it’s always been the most generous of the Terre Nere crus. The soils here are deep and ashy, the old vines protected from the wild Etna winds, and the wines tend to show a bit more warmth and perfume than their neighbours.

The 2023 season gave a long, even ripening window – ideal for Marco de Grazia’s gentle, vineyard-first approach. Everything is hand-picked, fermented with native yeasts, and aged in neutral oak, so the fruit and site can speak for themselves.

This release is plush and aromatic without losing its edge. Ripe red fruits, spice and a bit of smoky earth come through, framed by soft, fine tannins that give it an easy flow. It’s bright and pure, with that Etna lift and detail that keeps you coming back. Santo Spirito might be the most immediately charming of the Terre Nere wines, but there’s quiet structure underneath too.

"Terre Nere’s wines all possessed unbelievable freshness and complexity as well as huge perfumes that suggested Pinot Noir…These wines are astonishingly complex and ethereal efforts from the hillsides of Mt. Etna in Sicily."
- Robert Parker