For two decades now, Nino Barraco has been instrumental in rewriting the story of wine in Marsala, on Sicily’s western coast. Nino took over his family’s vineyards in 2004 and from the outset he has done things differently, working organically, focussing on native grapes, and producing single vineyard wines in the hopes 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.The philosophy of the cellar, as in the vineyard, has always been natural from beginning to end; 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.
From Nino’s youngest vines planted over sand, this is mostly Grillo, with a little Catarratto, Grecanico, and a touch of Zibibbo in the mix. The grapes were spontaneously fermented on the skins for just a day, before being pressed off to vats for a short rest. Naturally occurring malolactic conversion lends a suppleness to the finished wine. The overall result is a pretty and perfumed wine that takes you straight to the Sicilian seaside. On the nose, the wine is strikingly aromatic: lemon zest, ripe yuzu, and orange blossom mingle with crushed fennel, wild thyme, and a hint of saline sea spray. Subtle floral notes — white rose and chamomile — add delicacy, while a touch of wet stone grounds the aromatics. The palate is lively, with concentrated flavors of green apple and ripe pear, balanced by bright acidity. A gentle saline minerality runs through the mid-palate, joined by hints of iodine, oyster shell, and a faint touch of almond bitterness on the finish. The texture is light, yet has a refreshing weight that carries the wine to a long, clean end. A wonderful aperitif that has a natural affinity with anything from the sea.