Critics reviews
(David Williams - Wines of the week - The Observer - 08-Jul-2012)
(The Observer Food Monthly - Nov 2010)
From one of Piedmont's original Arneis plantings in 1974: mineral lift, white flower nose and potential complexity, but so good young.
(Steven Spurrier, Decanter, January 2011) I am often disappointed with the arneis grape as the Italians tend to make them rather lumpy, high in alcohol or too oaked. This has intense citric fruit, good clarity and just a hint of an unusual salty minerally undertone. Surely roero’s best example of the grape – expertly made by the bovone brothers.
Rose Murray Brown - The Scotsman, December 2012.
About this WINE
Cornarea, Piedmont
The Bovone family herald from Ovada where they were wine merchants until Gian Piero Bovone bought the Cornarea estate back in 1974. Having studied oenology, Gian Piero had figured out that reductive winemaking was the key to successful white winemaking and so invested in the single vineyard of 15 hectares overlooking the small town of Canale. He then had the foresight to replant almost the entire hill to the white Arneis grape, culminating, in 1981, with their first single varietal wine.
Drinking Cornarea's medium bodied Arneis one's struck, not just by the fresh acidity (there's no malolactic conversion) but by its wet stone minerality that stylistically sits somewhere between Chablis and Vermentino. And such is the significant (phenol) extract and old vine fruit that this wine should age beautifully, as a tasting of 1983 clearly showed.
The key to Cornarea's high quality white wine Arneis DOCG (in north-west Piedmont in Italy) is the territorio/terroir: 30 million year old Miocene former sea bed soils rich in marine fossils and magnesium. In fact so rich is the soil in magnesium that a couple of doctors from nearby Canale made their fortune selling salt of magnesium, dug up locally, as a remedy during the late 19th century.
But Cornarea aren't just about Arneis, for they also have 3 hectares of Nebbiolo; fruit that Gian Piero's son and oenologist, Gian Nicola, transforms into Nebbiolo d'Alba DOC and Roero DOCG wines - very elegant, feminine styles, laced with silken tannins. A perfect reflection of the flour-like soils and rolling hills.
Arneis
Arneis means "rascal" in Italian, and is so named for its ability to beguile the most patient winemakers. It is a delicate white wine grape that originated (and is still primarily grown) in the Roero hills of Italy's southern Piedmont, just north of Alba ; it thrives in the chalky and sandy soil of this region.
Once nearly extinct, Arneis has made a comeback in recent years. The Arneis de Roero wines received DOC status in 1989 and DOCG in 2006 and production is on the rise, as consumers have come to appreciate its its distinctive apricot and tangerine aromas.
It can produce very good wines with perfumy characteristics of apples, pears, and a hint of licorice. The wines, usually sold as Roero Arneis DOCG.
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Description
Harvested ten days earlier than in 2010, the 2011 vintage has given us a sunny, lime and grape-fruited wine that is grounded in salty minerality. I love the clarity of this wine, along with its white peachiness and Poire William flavours. A great alternative to Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, Arneis in Cornarea’s hands seems to capture the best of both that these great varieties have to offer.
(David Berry Green)
While Arneis may be relatively low in acid, Cornarea’s wine is refreshing thanks to the high levels of magnesium minerals to be found in the sandy calc soils of Canale. In fact during the 19th century two Canale chemists built a good business selling ‘salt of magnesium’, dug up from the ground! So the white peachy notes are balanced by a cool saltiness; a gentle reminder of the region’s origins as a seabed.
All too many Arneis producers aim for too much fruit, too much alcohol and punch, along with a dose of oak to impress the judges. The Bovone boys keep it simple; they've got rare old vines, alofty site and magnesium rich soils that deliver the true face of fine Arneis, and naturally so. A great alternative to Pouilly-Fume.
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