Mission Codename Barolo Bianco
Do you deep fry at home? Air fry? French Fry?
Or what do you like drizzling a few drops of lemon or lime on? Do you go too salty sometimes and need a cold white to soak it all up?
WE HAVE YOU COVERED!
Arneis. Should be the new lemonade, at least for adults.
Never heard of it? That’s fine. Just know that IT ROCKS as Piedmont’s top white grape variety. So much so that you can spend TRIPLE the cost of this one on it yet end up not too far from where it can take you.
Wine Enthusiast has a spot-on profile: “The name Arneis translates to “little rascal” in the local dialect, a fitting moniker given the grape’s trickiness in the vineyard” they write, continuing *“single varietal Arneis wines are popular today, though the grape was historically blended with the Nebbiolo grape in the Barolo region… the aromatics of the Arneis grape attracted the attention of birds and bees away from the more prestigious Nebbiolo.”
Yes, it’s that perfumey and it’s that scrumptious. For $12, it will knock your white socks off.
Let’s continue, “Arneis originated in Roero, a subregion of Piedmont located along the left bank of the River Tanaro, across from Langhe… Having fallen out of favor with producers in the early 1970s, Arneis underwent something of a renaissance in the 1980s and has gone from strength to strength ever since. The best expressions of Arneis surely come from its home region. Here, the Arneis grape is used to produce a single varietal white wine labeled as Roero Arneis.”
The Dosio Roero Arneis is textbook. They have been a reliable Barolo staple in La Morra since the early 1970s. Marrying their roots in classicism well with modernity, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous catches us up with the recent era; “Winemaker Marco Dotta has brought tremendous finesse and nuance to Dosio since he arrived in 2011. I continue to be impressed with these classically leaning wines.”
Back to the Wine Enthusiast for what to expect: “Arneis from the Roero DOCG typically shows a pale golden color, floral aromas and a medium to full body, with flavors of pear, apricot, tangerine, hazelnut and almond. Most of these wines are unoaked, vinified in stainless steel vats… Oaked Arneis may lack the crispness and floral aromatics of unoaked examples. There are oaked and unoaked styles produced, with the former showing a fuller body and creamier flavors, and the latter lighter in body and with more pronounced floral aromas.”
This one is the latter, it’s akin to a field of spring blossoms you could easily give to your loved one, in a glass rather than a bouquet.
In the end, they ask: “Now that you know a little bit about this grape variety, why not take a taste?”
And we ask the same. At this price, with this painstakingly cherry-picked Wine Spies exclusive you just can’t go wrong. Make sure you have enough for the long, joyful dog days, and balmy nights of summer ahead.
What the Winery Says
2017 Roero Arneis
- Winemaker
- Marco Dotta
- Varietal
- 100% Arneis
- Vintage
- 2017
- Appellation
- Roero DOCG, Piedmont
- Alcohol
- 13%
- Locale
- Montaldo Roero
- Altitude
- 250 m. above sea level
- Soils
- limestone and sand
- Exposure
- South – Southeast
- Average yield
- 70 quintals/hectare
- Aging
- 3 months on the lees with periodic stirring
- Vessels
- 100% Stainless Steel