It is always an enjoyable time when I am doing a wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source and this time with an Instagram blogger that I have finally had a chance to meet.  Life has a way of getting hectic, and sometimes the best thing one can do, is sit back and have a glass of wine.  Actually, this tasting was curated for the other blogger, and it was interesting to observe someone else tasting. 

We had Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso DOC 2020 from Sicily.  Tenuta delle Terre Nere is a wine estate that has vineyards on the slopes of Mount Etna, with a high average of older vines, including vines that are pre-phylloxera. These special vines are used for their flagship wine La Vigna di Don Peppino, named after their winemaker of over seven decades.  The winery has fifty-five hectares in four different subregions on the island. This wine is a blend of young and old vines of ninety-five percent Nerello Mascalese and five percent Nerello Cappuccio.  These are actually two mutations of the Nerello and are usually grown and blended together in Sicily; and the grapes do quite well in the volcanic soil.  The grapes are macerated until the end of fermentation and then is aged in wood barrels for about a year.  The wine was much softer than I had anticipated compared to some other wines that I have had from Sicily, and more elegant.  The wine had a soft red color with floral notes and cherries.  On the palate, a nicely balanced wine offering some nice acidity and earthiness that continues through the finish.  I like it for appetizers and cheeses and good conversations.   

Azienda Agricola Poliziano Rosso di Montepulciano DOC 2019 was introduced to us as a “Junior” Vino Nobile Montepulciano from Tuscany.  The winery is celebrating their sixtieth year and they offer several different wines all based on Sangiovese.  The local name for Sangiovese is Prugnolo Gentile.  The winery is named after the Renaissance poet Angel Ambrogini, who is known by his nickname Poliziano.  Rosso di Montepulciano DOC was created in 1989 with amendments in 1999 which really created this wine and is a way of utilizing more of the younger vines to make a softer and fruitier wine that doesn’t need years of cellaring.  The Rosso di Montepulciano only requires six months of aging, whereas the Vino Nobile Montepulciano requires a minimum of twenty-four months.  This wine is a blend of eighty percent Sangiovese and twenty percent Merlot.  The wine is a light garnet color with notes of cherries and hazelnut, on the palate the wine offers red fruits in a medium body with lighter tannins and a bright finish.  Ideal for a first wine with appetizers or with a lighter meal.