Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016 - 76

TOP 100 WINERIES 2016

I TALY
XXXXXXXX
P IEDMONT

Elvio Cogno

Xxxxxxx
Valter Fissore
Xxxxxx

Tenuta delle Terre Nere
Founded: 1990
Winemaker/viticulturist:
Founded: XXXX
Valter Fissore
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Owners: Nadia Cogno and
XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX
Valter Fissore
Acres owned: XXX
Acres owned: 27
Cases produced: XXXXXX
Annual production: 8,000 cases
Estate grown: 100%
Estate grown: 90%
Importer: Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx, XX
Importer: Wilson Daniels,
Website: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
St. Helena, CA
Website: elviocogno.com

Valter Fissore seems to make excellent wines regardless of vintage conditions. His deft hand shows in Barolos from the warm 2009 and 2011 growing
seasons, while his Bricco Pernice from the epic 2010 vintage reaches thrilling
levels of power and precision. This is Elvio Cogno's fifth Top 100 appearance in
seven years.
Long Partnership: Fissore met Nadia Cogno, his future wife, on a
school bus when he was 18 years old. He began working at the Marcarini winery in La Morra with Nadia's father, Elvio Cogno, and when
Cogno decided to start his own estate winery in Novello, Fissore went
with him. They worked together until Elvio Cogno passed away in
June 2016 at the age of 79. Valter and Nadia continue to live in the
restored 18th-century farmhouse at the top of the Ravera cru, surrounded by 27 acres of vines that Fissore farms organically. He sticks
to tradition in his winemaking, fermenting with ambient yeasts, putting the Barolos through long macerations and aging them in large
Slavonian casks. His meticulous methods shine through in wines of
nuance and vibrancy.
Single-Parcel Selections: Fissore considers Bricco Pernice his finest plot in the Ravera cru, with vines up to 65 years old
and limestone soils that confer a vibrant linearity in the
wine. The 2010 vintage accentuates that vibrancy, bringing perfectly ripe fruit flavors, delicate rose petal scents
and powerful tannins that make the wine a candidate
for long-term cellaring. Contrast that with the lush and
seductive 2009 Vigna Elena, from a 2.5-acre plot that's
planted to the nebbiolo rosé clone. Fissore says Vigna
Elena performs best in warm vintages, when the
lighter-colored, late-ripening clone brings elegance
and fine, mature tannins to the wine.
Early Access: Fissore's sure hand is also evident in the
2011 Cascina Nuova, one of the most consistently
pleasurable basic Barolos for the price. Culled from
younger vines, its smooth tannins and black cherry
flavors make it easy to drink on release. -S.J.

TOP-SCORING WINES

I TALY
XXXXXXXX
S ICILY

Founded: 2002
Winemaker/viticulturist:
Founded:
XXXX
Calogero Statella
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Owner: Marco
de Grazia
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Acres
owned:
74.13
Acres owned: XXX
Annual
production:
17,000 cases
Cases
produced:
XXXXXX
Estategrown:
grown:100%
85%
Estate
Importer:Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx, XX
Importer:
Michael Skurnik
Wines, NY
Website:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Website: tenutaterrenere.com

Calogero
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Statella
Terre Nere rode the success of its red wines to two previous appearances in
the Top 100, but its whites took center stage in this year's tastings. Cooler vintages in 2013 and 2014 allowed the white varieties to ripen slowly and evenly,
leading to structured whites with fresh acidity and striking aromatics.
Etna Believer: American wine importer Marco de Grazia was drawn to
Mount Etna's rugged landscape and extreme climate at a time when
its wines were still relatively unknown here in the US. He founded
Terre Nere on Etna's northern slope in 2002, buying up vineyards
with 50- to 100-year-old vines and farming them organically. In 2009
he added solar panels that can deliver 80 percent of the winery's
power needs, supplemented by a furnace in 2010 that's fueled by
branches pruned from the estate's olive trees. De Grazia led a movement to establish official recognition for Etna's traditionally recognized crus, or contradas, and was one of the first to release wines with
single-cru labels.
Bianco Vintage: De Grazia considers 2014 his best vintage yet for white
wines, so good that he decided to bottle carricante from Calderara
Sottana and Santo Spirito as single-cru wines for the first time ever.
Santo Spirito, culled from vines up to 50 years old rooted
in deep volcanic ash, strikes a fine balance between richness and structure. Its flavors of peach and nectarine feel
juicy and round, cushioning the wine's flinty minerality
and tight lemony acidity. The Calderara Sottana cru's
rough and rocky landscape comes through in the wine's
smoky scents that wind through brighter flavors of
peach and lemon, its gritty minerality tempered by
ten months in French barriques. For a superb introduction to Terre Nere's whites, check out the basic
Etna Bianco from the cool 2013 vintage. It's a field
blend of carricante (65 percent) fleshed out with
catarratto, inzolia, grecanico and minella, all from
old vines. Aged in stainless steel, it presents an
unfettered expression of Etna in its bright citrus flavors and flinty structure. - S.J.

TOP-SCORING WINES

XX '10
96
'XX Barolo
Xxxxxxxx
Bricco
Xxxxxxx
Pernice
Xxxxx
$110
$XX(12/15)
(XX/XX)

XX '14
93
'XX Etna
Xxxxxxxx
CuvéeXxxxxxx
delle Vigne
XxxxxNiche
$XX (XX/XX)
Santo Spirito $35 (6/16)

XX '09
95
'XX Xxxxxxxx
Barolo Riserva
Xxxxxxx
Vigna
Xxxxx
Elena
$XX$117
(XX/XX)
(12/15)

XX '14
92
'XX Etna
Xxxxxxxx
CuvéeXxxxxxx
delle Vigne
XxxxxNiche
$XX (XX/XX)
Calderara Sottana $35 (6/16)

XX '11
93
'XX Barolo
Xxxxxxxx
Ravera
Xxxxxxx
$76 Xxxxx
(12/15)
$XX (XX/XX)

XX '13
91
'XX Etna
Xxxxxxxx
Bianco
Xxxxxxx
$21 (6/16)
Xxxxx $XX (XX/XX)

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2017

http://www.tenutaterrenere.com http://www.elviocogno.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016