"A fascinating wine showing flower stems, orange peel and bark with some dried mushrooms. The structure and length are exceptional with a medium to full body and tight, focused tannins. Ends with a persistent, polished and refined finish. Caresses in every sense. Better in five years but if you get the chance to drink now, go for it!" 98/100
So wrote James Suckling in 2024 about the 2022 Terre Nere Etna Rosso 'Prephylloxera' La Vigna di Don Peppino/ Caldera Sottana
Last week, a few of us friends gathered for a long, laughter-filled luncheon—one of those radiant affairs where time bends, stories sprawl, and the corks keep popping. Among the bottles opened that day, one stood out—not just for what it was, but for what it promised to become.
The 2022 Terre Nere Etna Rosso 'Prephylloxera' La Vigna di Don Peppino is a wine forged in fire—literally, born on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna, where ancient vines dig deep into ashen soil. It inspired something more than just notes and ratings. It begged for a myth.
So I decided to trace this wine’s imagined evolution over a hundred years—through time, memory, and metamorphosis.
To help, I enlisted my clandestine consigliere, ÅïΩfonso—an arcane ignis fatuus who whispers tweaks, nudges metaphors, and occasionally channels the Ancient Greeks. ÅïΩf claims to see the long arc of a wine’s soul. I'm simply the relayable messenger.
Who better to guide such a journey than Empedocles, the 5th-century B.C. Greco-Sicilian philosopher-poet who believed all matter arose from the eternal dance of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water—and who famously dove into the molten mouth of Etna in a bid for godhood.
There's also a dollop of Isaac Asimov in these notes (with a bob to his nephew, Eric, who once critiqued the entire genre in his famed Napa lecture “The Tyranny of the Tasting Note.”) These are not a tasting notes in the conventional sense. This is something else entirely.
So, with Empedocles as our mythic narrator, and ÅïΩfonso in the co-pilot seat, let’s imagine what a hundred years in the life of this wine might look like.
2022 Terre Nere Etna Rosso 'Prephylloxera' La Vigna di Don Peppino/Caldera Sottana - 100 years of tasting notes
2025 — The Youthful Wanderer
In its youth, the wine is a bright-eyed wanderer, full of restless energy and sharp curiosity. It dances lightly with flower stems and bursts of fresh orange peel, carrying the rough bark of the earth on its shoulders and the secret scent of dried mushrooms in its pocket. Its body is strong, taut with focused flavonoids like the sinews of a runner eager to sprint. It moves with promise, leaving a polished trail that caresses the senses, a lover’s gentle touch. Though still learning, it beckons you to join its journey now, even as it dreams of future horizons.
2027 — The Poised Artisan
Now in its 5th year, the wine has grown into a poised artisan—confident, composed, and richly layered. The bright spark of youth softens into the grace of dried rose petals and candied citrus, its hands skilled in weaving the earth’s gifts—aged leather, forest floor, truffle whispers—into a tapestry of flavor. Its once taut tannoids have relaxed into velvety strength, carrying the wine with effortless balance. It smiles knowingly, finishing with a long, contemplative sigh of dried herbs and savory spice. It invites you to drink with patience or now, savoring its elegant mastery.
2037 — The Wise Guardian
Fifteen years have tempered the wine into a wise guardian—steady, deep, and full-bodied. The youthful brightness has matured into layered memories: dried roses, aged citrus, and the quiet strength of forest earth enriched with umami. Its frame is silky, polyphenols softened like worn leather; it stands firm yet gentle, guarding its secrets with quiet dignity. The finish lingers like a thoughtful nod, polished and persistent. This guardian envelops the senses now, embracing patience as its greatest virtue. It welcomes those who listen deeply.
2047— The Distinguished Elder
After twenty-five years, the wine has become a distinguished elder—a figure of quiet authority and rich history. The bright tones of youth have gracefully bowed to a tapestry of aged aromas: dried rose, tobacco leaf, worn leather, and the subtle earthiness of truffle. Beneath this wisdom flicker faint echoes of citrus, softened by time. Its phyto-kems have resolved into a velvety cloak, medium-bodied but profound in presence. The elder moves with calm confidence, finishing like a fading memory—long, elegant, complete. It does not seek to impress but to be respected and understood.
2072 — The Reflective Sage
At fifty, the wine is a reflective sage—no longer chasing the brilliance of youth but savoring the richness of experience. Its youthful vibrancy has mellowed into introspective calm. Dried herbs and worn leather mark its weathered face; old wood and earth breathe softly in its presence. Its frame has thinned but stands strong, a quiet strength that needs no boasting. The finish is gentle, lingering like a soft farewell spoken in a quiet room. It invites you to listen carefully—not to drink, but to commune with memory and wisdom, a voice shaped by time itself.
2122— The Revered Ancestor
At one hundred years, the wine is a revered ancestor—a stooped but sharp-eyed elder in the cut of a Hari Seldon-esque visage, seated in the deep chair of time. Its vibrant youth has faded to the scent of dried letters in a cedar box, the citrus and mushroom notes mere whispers of a life well-lived. Its structure is fragile yet proud, catechins softened to gentle memories. It speaks not in loud tones but in slow, thoughtful whispers, inviting you to sit and listen. This ancestor does not dazzle or delight—it remembers, reflects, and shares the dignity of centuries passed. Drinking it is not an act of tasting but a meditation over the persistence of memory and the soul of time.
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