2022 Cornarea Roero Arneis

This is the white wine Nebbiolo country drinks when no one’s looking.

The 2022 Cornarea Roero Arneis comes from one of Piedmont’s most quietly serious estates, tucked into the sandy hills just across the Tanaro River from Barolo. While collectors obsess over red crus, Cornarea has built its reputation on Arneis—a grape once nearly abandoned, now reclaimed, and in the right hands, capable of remarkable depth and finesse.

Roero is Arneis’ true home. Unlike the limestone and clay of Barolo, Roero’s soils are dominated by sand, lending the wines aromatic lift, texture, and a signature savory edge. Cornarea farms some of the appellation’s best sites, including steep, south-facing vineyards that push Arneis far beyond its reputation as a simple aperitivo wine.

This is not casual Arneis.

Cornarea was among the early pioneers who believed Arneis could be serious, age-worthy, and expressive of place. Low yields, careful farming, and restrained winemaking are the rule here. The goal is clarity, not cosmetics—letting the grape’s natural texture and the Roero terroir do the work.

The 2022 vintage delivers precision and energy. In the glass, the wine is pale straw with flashes of green. Aromatically, it’s immediately compelling: pear skin, white peach, chamomile, citrus blossom, almond, and a subtle saline note that signals both soil and restraint. There’s freshness, but also depth—this isn’t a one-note white.

On the palate, the wine is dry, textured, and quietly powerful. Stone fruit and orchard fruit lead, supported by bright acidity and a gently phenolic grip that gives the wine shape and seriousness. There’s a savory, slightly bitter almond note on the finish—a classic Arneis signature—that keeps the wine firmly in food territory. It’s refreshing without being simple, structured without heaviness.

What makes Cornarea’s Arneis particularly compelling is its position in the market. Serious Roero Arneis remains wildly undervalued compared to Piedmont’s reds, and bottles like this rarely make it far beyond local tables and European restaurant lists. When they do appear in the U.S., they’re often misunderstood—snapped up by sommeliers and insiders who know exactly what they’re getting.

This is a collector’s white in disguise. Not because it’s flashy or oaky, but because its authentic as fuck and has a sense of place in a region where whites are an afterthought for most buyers. If you collect white Burgundy, Etna Bianco, or serious alpine whites, this belongs in your rotation. Let me say this again: this belongs alongside your Premier Cru Burgundies.

The 2022 Cornarea Roero Arneis is precise, savory, and unmistakably Piedmontese. It’s the kind of bottle you open “just to have a glass” and end up finishing. Quietly confident. Deeply satisfying.

Once you start drinking Arneis like this, it’s hard to go back.