2023 Caruso & Minini Catarratto Sicilia 750 ml

Great Sicilian whites taste like Sicily: perfumed with achingly ripe lemons, brisk ocean breezes, and a hint of honeysuckle growing on an ancient stone wall.

The ‘23 Caruso & Minini Catarratto delivers that experience in spades. Overflowing with exotic charisma, it’s got joyful aromatics of pineapple, green guava, and lemon, all accented with an undeniable sea-breeze note, white pepper, and honeysuckle. 

Cataratto, which makes up 60% of Sicilian white grapes, has been known for centuries for its role in Marsala. But it’s recently been reinvigorated by a new generation of winemakers who are wise to the potential in their island’s mineral-laden volcanic soils. 

In cases like Caruso & Minini’s, the results have been tremendous: Vinous called their Cataratto “an absolute knockout” in years past, and release after release has gotten snapped up by buyers at Sicily’s beloved beach clubs, and at US hot spots like SF’s State Bird Provisions and New York’s River Café.

A long line of Carusos have farmed vines in Marsala, dating back to the late 1800s, when Antonio Caruso began the family tradition. It was Stefano Caruso and his business partner, Mario Minini, who founded Caruso & Minini in 2004—niece Giovanna Caruso spearheaded the “Bio” project that yielded the 2023 Catarratto. Giovana meticulously tends the organically farmed ten-acre vineyard where the family’s indigenous grapes grow, surrounded by stones called cuti, not unlike the famed galets roulés of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Great wine from Sicily is like nothing else, and the depth and nuance of the Caruso & Minini Catarratto suggest a bottle two or three times the cost. At this price, you don’t have to save this one for the fancy dinner guests. But you’ll definitely want to share it with them.