This is the type of white wine you taste, marvel, and wonder why it’s not better known. Perhaps because it comes from a very small area in Italy’s northern region of Piedmont?
This white wine holds its own when paired with hearty winter soups, beans, pasta — and other dishes you’d expect to find in the mountainous areas of Italy. The winemakers also suggests pairing it with seafood or fish; after all the Monchiero Carbone winery is located by the trout-filled Tanaro river, and the Mediterranean is not that far away, to the south.
For this particular wine, the vineyards are located on the same steep hillside in Canale, where arneis grapes have been grown since this variety originated in the late fifteenth century.
The wine is straw yellow, and its aroma appears lightly floral with vanillin. The well-defined structure in this wine immediately becomes apparent on the palate, and persists through its long finish. An elegant yet full wine. And only 13.5% alcohol.
WHO: Monchiero Carbone
WHAT: 100% Arneis
WHERE: Roero, Piedmont, Italy
HOW MUCH: around $25 (media sample)
RATING: 92