2014 Giovanni Almondo Arneis Vigne Sparse Roero

After Del Posto, Marea, and Otto … WineAccess comes first

Last summer, we moved all of our warehouse and logistics operations from Oregon to Napa. We chose a partner company that seemed perfectly suited for the task. No longer would there be lengthy delays between orders and shipments, we were assured. A second warehouse in the Midwest would be fully operational by May 15th, making summer shipping possible. The plan was perfect … until, of course, it wasn’t.

In late December, after four breaches of our contract, we parted ways with our “partner” and signed a new agreement with their biggest competitor. In the weeks that followed, thousands of cases were supposedly counted and recounted. Then our entire inventory was hauled to the new warehouses — or at least what we thought was our entire inventory.

We were back in business in just 12 days; that was good. Here’s the not-so-good: Somehow, a few hundred cases never made it to where they were supposed to go. Management has had enough. Rather than rerouting the stragglers, they told us to “BLOWOUT THE BITS AND PIECES.”

So we are.

In 1980, Domenico Almondo graduated with a degree in agricultural sciences and returned to his family’s estate in Montà, about 35 kilometers southeast of Torino. While Domenico’s father Giovanni cultivated vines, he sold his entire production to a local cooperative so he could devote more time to the growing of strawberries, peaches, and apples.

A year later, Domenico crafted 1,500 bottles of wine — 800 of Nebbiolo and 700 of an indigenous white variety called Arneis. Almondo credits that tiny experimental harvest with establishing the future direction of Arneis, one of Italy’s most ethereal white wines.

The 2014 Domenico Almondo Arneis “Sparse” is pale green in hue, with mouthwatering aromas of ripe citrus and pear. Bright, crisp, infused with fabulous mineral complexity, filled with lemon curd richness, a touch of anise and green pear, sneaky in its richness and weight yet perfectly light on its feet. Finishes with great persistence and bracing acidity. Drink now-2019.

Of the 6,000 bottles that made it stateside, most were earmarked for the likes of Del Posto, Marea, and Otto in NYC. After those guys, WineAccess came first.

146 bottles. $35 on release.  A mere $16.99 today – the the lowest price ever on WineAccess – as we continue to BLOWOUT the bits and pieces.

• ABV 12.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Arneis