Giovanni Almondo "Bricco delle Cilieglie" Roero Arneis DOCG 2024

This Roero Arneis is absolutely stunning. Aromas of tangerine peel, marzipan, ripe pear, white flowers and spice tantalize the nose. The palate is fresh, displaying vibrant minerality and tight acidity, and is balanced by a creamy texture that allows for all the complex flavors to reach every part of the mouth. The finish is long and subtle with just the right focus, intensity of fruit and mineral flavors.

There's perhaps no white wine in Italy that combines value, sophistication and complexity more than Arneis (a white mutation of Nebbiolo). And when the subject is Arneis, there is one acknowledged master of the grape: Stefano Almondo, who's carried on the work of his father in tending their prized old-vines on hillside plots in Roero, just west of Barolo. "Bricco delle Ciliegie" is a bit of a step up from the multi-vineyard Sparse cuvée, as its brisk, limestony cut is rounded by a short stay in neutral oak barrels.

The Almondo family has grown grapes in Roero for over 300 years, though it wasn't until 1980 that Domenico made the decision to bottle his own wine. More importantly, he made the ground-breaking choice to craft top-flight white wine in a region nearly completely devoted to the production of red. Today, Domenico organically farms the sandy hillside soils along with his two sons, Federico and Stefano, producing world-class Arneis, along with Nebbiolo, Brachetto and a small bit of Barbera.

Giovanni Almondo's "Bricco delle Ciliegie" is named for the cherry orchard that used to surround the vineyard which produces this gorgeous white. The deeply-rooted vines are grown on predominantly sandy soils, interspersed with calcareous clay.