Caruso & Minini: Sicily's New Paradigm

Earlier this Summer we offered the wines of OCCHIPINTI, the young genius wine maker spearheading the new paradigm of Sicilian wine. This month, we present the wines of CARUSO & MININI, another neo-classical star in the making. These are volcanic wines, born of the alluvial red soil of this ancient island, made with ancient, indigenous varieties. Inzolia is responsible for the white, Frappato is the Rose and the red is a blend of Frappato and Nerello Mascalese. These wines fall into the dangerously smashable catagory. They are simply so much fun to drink - utterly, utterly delicious.

SICILY, despite its small size, it is the biggest nett contributor to Italy's total production with 17.5% of the volume. It is also possibly the oldest producer of wines, even being mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the land of trained vines. In recent years it has struggled under the weight of it's association with The Godfather and the Mafia, but now, thanks to producers like CARUSO & MININI it is shedding the more dubious aspects of its reputation. Featuring in Season 2 of The White Lotus has driven new interest - who wouldn't want a bit of Sicily? (Watch if you have not done so).



This part of Sicily is known for its volcanic soils, and the wines are all made naturally with indigenous varieties. This fantastic set of new releases is about buzzy energy and fresh acidity. The white is called ZOLI and is made from Inzolia. There's a beautiful chalky minerality to the wines, backed by savoury lemon pite. There is an electrifying acidity that folds into the intense fruit profile, with great length. The FRAPPO Rosé is a revelation. Made with Frapato, this is not like any Rosé I tried this year. Varietally it is recognisable as Frappato, it's like a red wine in spirit, but with pale colour and a tsunami of stawberry, peach, white apricot flavours, way more serious than your average Rosé but just as much fun to drink.  

FRAPPELLO is made from Frappato & Nerello Mascalese (see what they did there?). Nerello Mascalese is becoming more well known, possibly because of it's favourable moniker, the Barolo of the South. This wine utilises Frappato to soften and brighten the Nerello, adding crunchy bright fruit. NEBACCO is Nero d'Avola, wild and untamed but somehow elegant & sophisticated. As Jacis Robinson wrote of it: You could not possibly cram more explosively juicy fruit into this wine without exploding the bottle - Kapow! Interestingly in the same article they write that it is just as good after 5 days open and with a chill. Frankly I cannot see how it lasted that long.

We CANNOT get enough of these wines, a mixed 6 of one of each of the whites and 2 of each of the reds is €99, stunning, stunning value. If you like Italian wines, wines with soul, volcanic wines or just plain smashable wines - this offer is for you.

(DROPDOWN BOX OFFERS OTHER COMBINATIONS FOR THE 6-PACK)

Rory
085 1020 477 / rory@stationtostationwine.ie

View other Sicilian and the HIDDEN GEMS OF ITALY 6-PACK on STSWine HERE