Think of Piedmont and you automatically say Barolo and Barbaresco. You might even say Gavi di Gavi if you’re a bit leftfield but Roero and Langhe? Their wines don’t immediately spring to mind, do they?
However, one of Italy’s most successful white producers, Ceretto, is based in the Langhe. While it makes classic reds, it also produces Blange – a wine made from the white Arneis grape. The Ceretto family first made the wine in 1984, producing less than 3000 bottles from its 1ha of Arneis vines. Today it has 62ha planted – around one-fifth of all Arneis in Piedmont, according to Federico Ceretto and produces more than 600,000 bottles of the stuff.
Roero’s promotion
They’ve had to extend plantings from the Roero denominazione into Langhe but this has had its drawbacks. In 2006, Roero was awarded DOCG status – the top of the tree in Italian wine law. Federico says: ‘We had to plant 12ha over the river in the Langhe so we had to become Langhe DOC instead of Roero. I would like to be part of Roero as it became a DOCG last year but I have to cut my production by 100,000 bottles if I did. And I’m not going to do that.’
When they did that, they elevated Roero Spumante to DOCG status as well. Now I don’t know about you but I’ve never tasted Roero Spumante and am unlikely to come across it any time soon. Federico isn’t impressed by the promotion: ‘It is a DOCG with about three producers. Hardly anybody makes it and there is no history to it.’ It’s just another sign of the Italian authorities being in touch with the consumer. You may remember top producer Allegrini had to declassify its Valpolicella Classico because it bottled its wine with a screwcap and Italy’s crazy rules restrict what type of closure you can put on a wine.
Winemaking
The Blange is fermented at 4-6°C. At these sorts of temperatures, yeasts struggle to convert the grape sugars to alcohol and it takes an epic three months to complete the ferment. However, they say it requires only one-fifth of the sulphur dioxide to prevent against spoilage or oxidation.
Tasting notes
2007 Ceretto Langhe Arneis Blange: ‘As weighty as Vanessa Feltz in the mouth. Clean and fresh with a bit of spritz on entry. Aromas reminiscent of bruised apple and moderate acidity on the finish. Pretty decent but £16.49? Ouch.’ 15.5/20. Fresh & Wild, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, Bibendum
2007 Ceretto Barbera d’Alba
‘Vibrant raspberry colour. Lots of fresh red berry fruit. It is silky with lovely concentration. Soft tannins and mouthwatering acidity on the finish. I could drink a whole bottle of this’ 18/20. £16.49, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, MW Wines, Bibendum
