WTN: Two from Roero

Az. Ag. Penna Claudio Valdrì Roero Arneis 2015 - Arneis; c.15€
I don't have a huge amount experience with this grape so I don't feel comfortable talking about typicity. But it is a very tasty little wine. The fruit is quite neutral but it has some bitter/citric and gently peachy thing going on that makes it more interesting than just your average neutral white. Full body but certainly not fat and with enough acidity to keep it moreish. Nice, fruity wine.

Cascina Val del Prete Roero "Bricco Medica" 2012 - Nebbiolo; c.25€
Now this looks like a proper Nebbiolo: rusty, ugly, hazy, brick red. I sniff it and swoon. A proper Nebbiolo stink after years of Alko only having modern oak soup for sale. It smells of blood/iron and tannins. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a bit when I say you can actually smell the tannins, but finally it is mostly such an old school smell of Nebbiolo that just from the scent alone I feel I get the whole Nebbiolo experience. But there's something odd here, too. Fruit! In a young Nebbiolo! Heresy! But seriously: good structure, no new oak that I can see and fruit. I could do without the last mentioned but the whole is really awesome. And I realise that I'm probably more excited than I should be but I blame Alko for not getting us any decent Nebbiolos in years.

[David M. Bueker]

Young Nebbiolo does have fruit, even from the traditionalists. It runs away and hides about 6 months from release, but it's there.

Cascina Val del Prete Roero "Bricco Medica" 2012[/b] - Nebbiolo; c.25€
''' no new oak that I can see and fruit. I could do without the last mentioned but the whole is really awesome...

I've heard about the oak used here in the upper Roero (I think the top bottling), and tasted it in the 2001 when young, but when tried a second time maybe 5 years after, say 2-3 years ago, it softened to the point that it did not detract from the experience. I wish more Roero's made it to these shores.

I think the better (non-oaky) Roero Nebbiolos are some of the best relatively inexpensive examples of the variety. It's often labelled as Nebbiolo d'Alba, too.