Barraco Catarratto 2023
An immediately enchanting expression of Catarratto (seriously, we were smitten from first sip), pulled from a forty-year-old vineyard planted just a few hundred meters from the Mediterranean over black volcanic soils. Nino blazed his own path starting with the 2004 vintage, rigorously organic from the start, producing single-vineyard, monovarietal, mostly white wines of real character, highlighting the sunny, but fresh and salty imprint of this seaside, high-limestone terroir. In the beginning the wines had little to no maceration. From 2008-2012, the wines became fairly orange, as Nino interpreted a different side of his land. Since then he has steadily dialed back the macerations, returning to the origins of his career. His range of wines feels as complete and resonant as ever. His Catarratto spends a day on skins, before being pressed off to concrete; aged in steel for 10 months, it sees no oak to showcase the style and vibrant aromas of citrus, yellow flowers, and nutmeg. A beautiful shade of gold, it pairs ripe stone fruits with a pronounced smokiness from the land and a lick of salt from the sea. Medium-bodied and softly textured. A wine with an incredible sense of place.
Nino Barraco has been instrumental in rewriting the story of wine in Marsala. Nino took over his family’s vineyards in 2004 and from the outset he has done things differently, working organically, focussing on the native grapes of his Western Sicily and producing single vineyard wines in the hope of showing others the region’s true potential. He has spent the past few decades acquiring small parcels and now farms a total of twenty hectares of vines spread along the coast north and south of Marsala. Nino’s work is tireless and he can usually be found driving his beat up Fiat through the dunes to check on his vines. There he works organically and with a great respect for nature. In the cantina his aim is simply to guide the wine from vineyard to glass. Whilst the majority of his wines are bottled the year after harvest, in his parent’s garage, Nino has embarked on a project to rediscover the Marsala of old. Here, old casks of various sizes hold oxidative wines in various stages of evolution. They are left to evaporate for up to a decade, producing highly concentrated wines of astounding length and complexity. Nino’s wines possess an uncanny sense of place. Salty, sunkissed and radiant, they are as Nino says, the sea in a glass.
Shipping Policy
Due to the restrictions of many state laws, we only ship wine to those states where direct shipment from a retailer is permitted by law; currently we ship to AK, CA, DC, ID, LA, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV and WY. This list is subject to change without notice. In addition, each state imposes limitations on the amount of wine any particular resident may receive by direct shipment. To ensure that you are able to order wine for direct shipment from our website, please consult the specific state requirements for your state.
Please note that all orders must be placed by persons who are at least 21 years old, and that age verification will be required upon receipt of your wine. No wine will be delivered to obviously intoxicated persons and any person unable to provide age verification will forfeit their right to receive the shipment until identification is produced. In such circumstances, the order may either be held in storage at a local depot of the shipping company until appropriate identification is produced, or shipped back to the winery. All associated costs will be the responsibility of and be charged to the customer.
Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from Biondivino to the purchaser in the State of California and the purchaser takes all responsibility for shipping it from California to his/her home state. By arranging for transportation of the wine, Biondivino is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of the purchaser. By utilizing this service from Biondivino, purchaser is representing that he/she is acting in compliance with his/her local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. The purchaser represents that he/she has obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, is working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, is legally entitled to take possession of wine and is legally entitled to take quantities ordered.
You will be charged the applicable sales tax, if any, assessed by your state for any shipment that Biondivino makes; otherwise California sales tax will be assessed on the sale. Shipping and handling costs are not included in the cost and will appear in the shopping cart before you complete your transaction. The carrier and service speed may vary by state and time of year, and Biondivino cannot take responsibility for the condition of any wine shipped by Ground.
Some of our products are sold on a "pre-arrival" or "futures" basis. These products are explicitly indicated as "pre-arrivals" or "futures" on our Website and newsletter. Biondivino will notify you by email when your "pre-arrivals" or "futures" have arrived and are ready to be shipped. You will be given the opportunity to coordinate the proper shipping address and method (we won't automatically ship out pre-arrival wines when they arrive).
Shipping Policy
Due to the restrictions of many state laws, we only ship wine to those states where direct shipment from a retailer is permitted by law; currently we ship to AK, CA, DC, ID, LA, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV and WY. This list is subject to change without notice. In addition, each state imposes limitations on the amount of wine any particular resident may receive by direct shipment. To ensure that you are able to order wine for direct shipment from our website, please consult the specific state requirements for your state.
Please note that all orders must be placed by persons who are at least 21 years old, and that age verification will be required upon receipt of your wine. No wine will be delivered to obviously intoxicated persons and any person unable to provide age verification will forfeit their right to receive the shipment until identification is produced. In such circumstances, the order may either be held in storage at a local depot of the shipping company until appropriate identification is produced, or shipped back to the winery. All associated costs will be the responsibility of and be charged to the customer.
Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from Biondivino to the purchaser in the State of California and the purchaser takes all responsibility for shipping it from California to his/her home state. By arranging for transportation of the wine, Biondivino is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of the purchaser. By utilizing this service from Biondivino, purchaser is representing that he/she is acting in compliance with his/her local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. The purchaser represents that he/she has obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, is working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, is legally entitled to take possession of wine and is legally entitled to take quantities ordered.
You will be charged the applicable sales tax, if any, assessed by your state for any shipment that Biondivino makes; otherwise California sales tax will be assessed on the sale. Shipping and handling costs are not included in the cost and will appear in the shopping cart before you complete your transaction. The carrier and service speed may vary by state and time of year, and Biondivino cannot take responsibility for the condition of any wine shipped by Ground.
Some of our products are sold on a "pre-arrival" or "futures" basis. These products are explicitly indicated as "pre-arrivals" or "futures" on our Website and newsletter. Biondivino will notify you by email when your "pre-arrivals" or "futures" have arrived and are ready to be shipped. You will be given the opportunity to coordinate the proper shipping address and method (we won't automatically ship out pre-arrival wines when they arrive).