Italian varietals have become über-trendy in Australia over the past 10-15 years. Plantings of Vermentino, Fiano, Dolcetto, Lagrein and Aglianico have started to pop up throughout the country. Victoria’s cool King Valley has been a particular hot bed of activity, thanks to the efforts of growers (some with an Italian heritage) including Pizzini, Brown Brothers and Dal Zotto.
The variety we’re looking at today is Arneis, a little travelled Piedmontese grape that typically produces a likable if not too complex white wine with suggestions of stone fruit and almond. While vibrant and refreshing, and relatively low in alcohol (a modest 12%), the 2009 Dal Zotto Arneis doesn’t quite capture the essence of the grape. It’s a pleasant enough wine, quite steely, and would make a decent accompaniment to an antipasto platter, but it needs better varietal definition and greater fruit concentration.
Priced rather ambitiously at just under $30, it veers to neutrality, a trait all too common in many far more modestly priced Italian white wines.
2009 ARNEIS
Producer: Dal Zotto
Variety: Arneis
Vintage: 2009
Region: King Valley, Victoria
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $27.00
Date tasted: 19 October 2011
Tasting Note:
Very pale silvery white. Slightly neutral nose of pithy grapefruit and white peach. Steely palate, initially quite zesty grapefruit, opening up to reveal stonefruit. While a nice vibrant and refreshing wine, it doesn’t fully capture the essence of the Arneis grape, and is somewhat ambitiously priced.
Score: 14.5/20
The variety we’re looking at today is Arneis, a little travelled Piedmontese grape that typically produces a likable if not too complex white wine with suggestions of stone fruit and almond. While vibrant and refreshing, and relatively low in alcohol (a modest 12%), the 2009 Dal Zotto Arneis doesn’t quite capture the essence of the grape. It’s a pleasant enough wine, quite steely, and would make a decent accompaniment to an antipasto platter, but it needs better varietal definition and greater fruit concentration.
Priced rather ambitiously at just under $30, it veers to neutrality, a trait all too common in many far more modestly priced Italian white wines.
2009 ARNEIS
Producer: Dal Zotto
Variety: Arneis
Vintage: 2009
Region: King Valley, Victoria
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $27.00
Date tasted: 19 October 2011
Tasting Note:
Very pale silvery white. Slightly neutral nose of pithy grapefruit and white peach. Steely palate, initially quite zesty grapefruit, opening up to reveal stonefruit. While a nice vibrant and refreshing wine, it doesn’t fully capture the essence of the Arneis grape, and is somewhat ambitiously priced.
Score: 14.5/20
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