Flavourful Arneis made from extra ripe grapes, with flavours of pear drop candy, jasmine flower and almonds

Arneis wines are typically quite delicate. But Maggia surprised us, as it had lots of flavour! It tasted almost like pear drop candy in a glass – complemented by notes of jasmine flower and ripe yellow apple. We asked Fabrizio Francone, the winemaker, what’s his secret?

Fabrizio explained that, in Roero, the normal time to pick Arneis grapes is between the 10th and 20th of September, while they’re still green. His philosophy is to pick his grapes a week later, when they turn golden. This way, he can produce wine that’s more complex. At the expense of having less acidity, his wine has a richer flavour as well as more texture and body.

Fabrizio’s vineyard is in Castagnito in Roero. On the left bank of the Tanaro river, it’s only 10 minutes drive from Alba. 15 million years ago this area was at the bottom of a prehistoric ocean, so the soils here are rich in white sand with occasional seashell fossils.

Winemaking

The grapes are fermented for three weeks in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 16-20°C. This temperature is close to the upper limit for white wines, and helps to extract more varietal flavours from the grapes. Fabrizio says it’s also a more sustainable method, as he doesn’t use as much electricity for cooling and produces less CO2. Malolactic fermentation is stopped with cooling, and immediately after that the wine is filtered. Since all bacteria and microorganisms are removed, Fabrizio says he can use far less sulphur dioxide than normal – another important element of sustainable production. This Arneis is bottled as early as possible to preserve its delicate varietal aromas.

Tasting notes

Pale gold colour. Delicious flavours of pear drop candy, ripe yellow apple and elderflower complemented by notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, with just a touch of bitter almond. The wine is perfectly dry, with a medium level of alcohol, lots of flavour and medium acidity.

Awards

I Vini Di Veronelli – 2 stars (2019 vintage) | Luca Maroni – 90 pts (2019 vintage)