Expensive wine 168: Ceretto Blange 2021

Italian white wine shows off the arneis grape

Italian wine, which is full of ironies to begin with, gets especially ironic when it comes to white wine. Most of us don’t think of Italian whites as the equal of the reds, and the most popular varietal is pinot grigio, which is usually used to make vast amounts of indifferent supermarket wine.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t Italian whites that deserve our respect, whether it’s the less expensive grillo from Sicily or arneis from the Piedmont.

Case in point is the Ceretto Blange 2021 ($22, purchased, 13.5%), which I bought as part of the recent expensive wine week experiment. I’ve long enjoyed arneis, and look for it when I want to spend a little more money. It’s both food friendly and a welcome change from the citrus fruit driven white wines that I usually drink.

Hence, the Ceretto, made by a producer best known for making $100 and $200 Piedmontese reds. Which, in this case, means we’re getting a top-notch winery for our $22.

Most arneis is floral and almost nutty – the tasting notes say hazel nuts, but it always seems more almond-like to me. The wine is not quite as rich as a California chardonnay, but always round, with stone fruit flavors.

The Ceretto is a little fresher with less almond and more citrus and apricot than others I’ve tasted. This doesn’t mean that it’s not worth drinking, but just that it’s different. And, frankly, it was head and shoulders above the quality of the other pricey wines I tasted during the expensive wine week effort.

Highly recommended, and just the thing for Mother’s Day – as a gift or for a leisurely Sunday dinner.

Imported by Heritage Collection