Mazzei Contrada Zisola Catarratto Terre Siciliane 2022

White peaches and crunchy apples with hints of saffron and candied orange peel. Dry and crisp with a medium body and vivid acidity. Steely and minerally at the end. Drink now.

This is a new high-end project started by the Mazzei family just a few years ago. When this Tuscan family initially invested in Sicily, the idea was to focus solely on red wines. But the international success of this native Sicilian white grape gave them the incentive to make this wine, now the most expensive in the portfolio. The 2022 Catarratto Contrada Zisola is angular and tight with tart citrus, minty apple and chopped almond. It finishes with tension, freshness, energy and white wine tannins. The wine sees some skin maceration (about 50% of the total) for three months in cocciopesto (which is an Italian conglomerate cement-like material); the other 50% is fermented off the skins. Production is 6,000 bottles. - Monica Larner.