2019 Giovanni Almondo Bricco delle Ciliegie Arneis Roero is sold out.

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One of Europe’s Most Sought-After Bargain Whites

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    2019 Giovanni Almondo Bricco delle Ciliegie Arneis Roero 750 ml

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    • Curated by unrivaled experts
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    • Temperature controlled shipping options
    • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

    The Arneis that Defines Roero

    It was the summer of 2006. We were dining with Gianluca Grasso at Osteria Veglio in La Morra. Before the waiter even handed the talented young winemaker the wine list, Gianluca ordered. "Bricco delle Ciliegie. Two bottles." It was automatic. If you're going to spend an evening eating sumptuous Piedmontese cuisine, there's only one way to begin: a bottle of the magically aromatic Arneis that defines its appellation.

    There are a handful of super high-toned and peerless European white wines. Most are French. There's Huet in Vouvray. Jean-Michel Deiss in Alsace. Vincent Dauvissat in Chablis. Jean-Francois Germain in Meursault. 

    In Italy, the list is far shorter. Terlano in Alto Adige. Perhaps Kuenhof. But in Piedmont, there's just one: Domenico Almondo, the maker of one of the most sought-after bargain whites in Europe, drawn off a single, high-elevation planting called Bricco delle Ciliegie.

    We first visited Domenico in the summer of 2007. The charming but understated winemaker was happy to see us. He'd just learned all about Wine Access from his winemaker friends in Barolo, Grasso and Germano. He was even happier to take us on a two-hour tour of the vines, jumping out of the truck at every opportunity to trek up the steep hillsides, going down on one knee to scoop up the earth, then allowing Roero sand to sift through his fingers. Domenico was all smiles until we asked him for a couple pallets of Bricco delle Ciliegie for Wine Access. Then this most charming of Piedmontese winemakers became all business.

    "There's never enough Bricco delle Ciliegie. In Piedmont, it's embarrassing to say no," Domenico said. "But we could sell almost the entire production just to the restaurants of the region." Then he smiled. “Let's enjoy the gnocchi and not talk business."

    The 2019 Roero Arneis Bricco delle Ciliegie is beautifully structured, juicy, and wound tightly by its natural acidity. But due to an early-September hailstorm that decimated a quarter of the crop, the Wine Access allocation has been cut in half. Strict limit of one case per member.