Had these two Arneis over the weekend:
1. Vietti Dd'OCeG: Santo Stefano Roero Arneis (13.5%; DallaTerra; L0416; U; www.Vietti.com; RS: 0.2 gm/100ml; TA: 0.564) CastiglioneFalletto 2016: Med.light yellow color; strong floral/Arneis/mango almost R-like very light chalky lovely nose; lightly tart rather rich/ripe/lush strong floral/mango/Arneis very light chalky/metallic bit simple flavor; very long slightly tart rather rich/lush bright floral/carnations/mango/Arneis slight chalky finish; plenty of pretty bright floral Arneis fruit but not much of the minerality I like in Arneis; just a bit on the simple side and rather rich/lush/ripe for an Arneis. $23.00 (KK)
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2. Idlewild Arneis FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (11.5%; www.IdlewildWines.com) Geyserville 2016: Med.yellow color; beautiful aromatic/fragrant very floral/Arneis/carnations slight stony/mineral nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit metallic very floral/carnations/Arneis rather stony/mineral/brisk bit lean/austere lovely flavor; very long rather floral/carnations/Arneis rather stony/mineral/chalky bit austere/bracing finish; shows more stony/mineral character than several months ago and beautiful Arneis aromatics. $30.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I'd pulled the Idlewild to share w/ Susan on the weekend. I noticed the latest Vietti on the shelf at Kokoman's, so bought it to compare.
The Vietti was unusual in that it had a non-standard bright red & white checkered capsule. It is, I gather, to celebrate 50 yrs ago that Alfredo Currado first gave life to Arneis in the Roero. Whatever that signifies.
I much preferred the Idlewild to the Vietti. The Vietti, w/ a slight RS, had a richness & lushness that the acidity was unable to support. It just seemed a bit on the fruit-forward side and just a bit simple. Though the aromatics were not as powerful, the Idlewild had much more minerality, totally dry, a quite brisk acidity, and was just a more refreshing and interesting expression of Arneis. Great job on this one, Sam.
Tom