If you’ve subscribed to SommSelect for a while now, you know that one of my jobs around here is to champion the lesser-known native grapes of Italy. I don’t do this out of hand—not every variety is worth championing—but Italy has an exceptional amount of weaponry at its disposal.
Sicily, and the grape in today’s wine, Catarratto, are great examples: For generations, Catarratto’s claim to fame was its vigor and high sugars, making it a workhorse blending grape for the factory-scale wineries of Marsala. Although Marsala once rivaled the likes of Porto and Jérez as a source of fortified wines, the decline of those wines in the modern era has necessitated a change in direction. Today’s dry, delicious Catarratto from Caruso & Minini is the upshot: We get to see what a grape can do when it’s farmed for quality rather than quantity, and in this case, the results are well worth showcasing. It’s aromatic and lively, but also nicely textured, reminiscent of some of the whites of the northern Rhône. Given its Sicilian origins you might expect a rich, syrupy, hot-climate monolith, but it’s a tribute to the adaptations of grape to place that you get freshness, florals, and nerve instead. As summer wanes, this tasty, tangy bit of bottled sunshine is what I want in my glass. If you, too, would like to keep the season alive a little longer, I encourage you to join me.
One of the side effects of drinking this 2017 was that it made me long for a return visit to Sicily (perhaps the strongest endorsement a wine could get). Anyone who’s been to Sicily knows that its calling card is sun-soaked abundance—agriculture here is done at large scale, whether it’s citrus or wheat or grapes. Historically, Sicily has ranked at or near the top for bulk wine production, sending a massive amount of juice off the island in tanker ships headed north. But, as with Marsala, vino da taglio (‘cutting wine’) is not in as high demand as it once was. Particularly in western Sicily, around cities such as Marsala and Trapani, there has been a profound generational shift in the wine business: Vast vineyard estates that once had a guaranteed home for (and income from) their crop have been reconfigured to focus on “quality” wine production. Caruso & Minini is one of many examples.
The property itself, which encompasses some 120 hectares of vineyards in the hills above Marsala, dates to the late 1800s and was established by Francesco Caruso. Francesco’s son, Nino Caruso, continued the farming and selling of wine to Marsala cooperatives, but is credited with being the first to envision a ‘branded’ wine from the family. Many years later, Nino’s son, Stefano, enlisted the help of partner Mario Minini and, on the strength of the family vineyard holdings, established Caruso & Minini—working out of a turn-of-the-century winery facility in the heart of ‘downtown’ Marsala.
Given their considerable vineyard acreage, Caruso & Minini makes a large and diverse lineup of wines. But the wines labeled “Naturalmente Bio,” like today’s, are part of a specialized line created by Stefano Caruso’s daughter, Giovanna, who isolated a small collection of vineyards (about five hectares’ worth) to be farmed organically. This Catarratto is sourced from sites nearing 400 meters’ elevation that sit about 20 kilometers from the sea, in soils of sandy clay with large, rounded stones known at cuti. Cooling breezes at this elevation are crucial to maintaining good acidity in the grapes, especially Catarratto, which has a tendency towards over-ripeness and premature oxidation.
There are no such problems here, though it should be noted that this 2017 is a wine to be consumed young: Unoaked and bottled in the spring after the harvest, this is not meant to be cellared, but enjoyed. In the glass, it’s a deep yellow-gold with hints of green at the rim, with a highly expressive nose of citrus blossoms, honeysuckle, mango, aromatic green herbs, and crushed stones. The medium-bodied palate (leaning toward medium-plus) has a slight waxiness to it that reminds me of Marsanne/Roussanne/Viognier from the Northern Rhône, and, as in the better examples of those, that textural richness is counterbalanced by freshness and a nice mineral edge. It’s a vibrant, transparent expression of place and is ready to enjoy straight away: just pull the cork and serve in all-purpose white wine stems at 45-50 degrees. Lemon- and caper-topped seafood—very Sicilian—is the way to go with the pairing, for as long as the warm weather holds out. Enjoy!
