04 Oct Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Caruso e Minini Catarratto 2020 and 2021 and 2022, Sicilia DOC
I am endlessly fascinated by the world of white wines, especially white wines from Italy. There are so many incredible white wines and one that recently captured my attention is Catarratto, a white wine from Sicily. While visiting Caruso e Minini in Marsala, we tasted not one, but three vintages of Catarratto, which demonstrated the wine’s age-ability. That is why the Caruso e Minini Catarratto 2020 and 2021 and 2022, Sicilia DOC (yes, all three vintages), are the Please The Palate wine(s) of the week.
About Catarratto
Catarratto is the most widely planted grape in Sicily, where it makes up about 60% of the island’s total vineyard area. In Etna DOC, Catarratto is planted with Carricante. And on the western side of Sicily, it is an important grape in the production of Marsala. But Catarratto also makes an ageable and delicious dry wine that is medium-bodied with notes of lemon, apple, peach, dried flowers, and honey, with medium acidity, minerality and sapidity.
About Caruso e Minini
Caruso e Minini is located on the western side of Sicily in Marsala. The winery is run by third generation sisters Giovanna and Rosanna Caruso, as well as Giovanna’s husband Andrea. Giovanna’s grandfather and father started with winery in the 1990s. The Caruso family partnered with the Minnini family from Piemonte to start a winery that controlled the entire process to guarantee quality. Close to the sea, they have 120 hectares in a hilly area and get a lot of wind.
Tasting Notes
Catarratto is high-yielding variety and produces a full-bodied, neutral wine. But when vinified with care, the wine will show beautiful floral, tropical, and mineral aromatics.
The 2022 Catarratto has fresh fruit and citrus notes with fresh acidity and minerality. With just one more year of age on it, the 2021 Catarratto has a riper, more complex nose. The citrus notes are more intense. It reminded me of honey drizzled on lemons and there were also herbal notes. The 2020 Catarratto showed notes of minerality and petrol, more than floral and citrus.
Tasting three vintages, I was able to see how Catarratto can age. I enjoyed all three vintages of the Catarratto but the 2020 was the star of the day for me.
Food Pairing
Enjoy Catarratto with a light pasta dish or fish or chicken. I think it is the perfect pairing with pasta con vongole pasta.
Where to Purchase
Caruso e Minini Catarratto retails for $20 and is available for purchase at wine.com
Watch This Video
Caruso e Minini wines were feature in a Crush On This Episode about Island Wines: Sicily