Catarratto Costabisaccia IGT Terre Siciliane 2025

Wine description for Catarratto Costabisaccia IGT Terre Siciliane 2025 by Vino Lauria

Colour & appearance

Intense straw yellow with subtle amber reflections — even in the glass, a hint of the substance this high-altitude Catarratto brings to the table.

Nose

A kaleidoscope that rearranges itself anew with every swirl: grapefruit zest, lime peel and orange blossom sketch out the tangy-fruity line, above which float floral top notes of jasmine and apple blossom. Beneath them lie crisp pome fruit, green almonds and a herbal undertone of sorrel and chervil — Sicilian in aroma, yet cool in tone.

Palate

Rich yellow fruit on the attack, a creamy, almost viscous texture supported by a clearly defined acidity that gives the wine its backbone. Filigree bitter notes and gentle spices flank the ripe fruit, ensuring that this wine holds its own at the table well beyond any aperitif routine.

Finish

Spicy and gripping, with a lingering herbal note and a saline pull in the finale — a finish that calls for fork and plate.

Terroir & origin

Costabisaccia is a 30-year-old, north-facing vineyard in the hills around Grisì, roughly 25 kilometres south-east of Alcamo, at an altitude of 600 metres — a rarity on this island. While many Sicilian vineyard sites struggle with the heat, Vito Lauria benefits here from cool nights and the breeze of the Tyrrhenian Sea. On limestone soils, Catarratto grows with unusual freshness; the cool northern exposure delays ripening and preserves the acidity that makes this wine so age-worthy.

Grape variety & vinification

Catarratto, Sicily’s great indigenous white grape variety, shows its serious side here. Harvested in mid-September, the grapes are gently pressed and then macerate on the skins for 24 hours under temperature control. Spontaneously fermented in stainless steel tanks, the wine subsequently rests on the lees for six months — which explains the creamy fullness paired with a taut structure.

Food recommendations

A top performer with seafood: grilled sardines, spaghetti alle vongole or oven-baked sea bass with fennel are the obvious choices. The herbal spice also pairs beautifully with artichokes alla Romana, caponata or a plate of young pecorino.

Special features

It took Vito Lauria five years until the first vintage of his revived family estate was bottled in 2010 — vineyard sites like Costabisaccia show why the wait was worth it. The rare combination of northern exposure, altitude and 24-hour skin maceration lends this Catarratto a breadth one would not normally expect from the variety: creamy and cool, fruity and herbal all at once. A white wine that possesses Sicily’s sunny soul — but with a Nordic-cool head.