2024 Michele Chiarlo Roero Arneis Le Madri, Piedmont

Bright straw yellow colour with a green shimmer. White flowers and yellow fruits on the nose, reminiscent of camomile and lemon. Straightforward and refreshing on the palate, lively acidity, medium-long, animating finish.

90 points Wine Enthusiast

Michele Chiarlo founded his Piedmont estate in 1956, building a reputation around the great reds of Barolo, Barbaresco and Monferrato while also championing the region’s native varieties. Today the Chiarlo family continues that work across some of Piedmont’s most prized vineyards. Le Madri turns the attention to Roero and Arneis, the local white grape that has become one of the region’s most appealing alternatives to its famous reds.

Across the Tanaro River from the Langhe, Roero has lighter, sandier soils with ancient marine origins. Arneis responds beautifully here, producing fragrant, gently textured whites with enough acidity to keep their naturally ripe orchard fruit fresh. The 2024 is made for early drinking, capturing the grape’s pear and stone fruit character while retaining the subtle savoury notes that stop it becoming merely fruity.

Pale straw yellow with green highlights. Nashi pear, white peach and crisp apple lead into lemon blossom and grapefruit, followed by fennel, chamomile and a touch of fresh almond. The palate is dry and supple, with pear and peach giving a softly rounded middle before citrus and fresh acidity tighten things up. Almond skin and a faint saline note linger on the clean, gently savoury finish.

Crab linguine with lemon and chilli would be terrific, alongside grilled prawns with fennel, vitello tonnato, zucchini flowers with ricotta or asparagus risotto with Parmigiano. Our pick is the crab linguine, keeping the sauce light with olive oil, parsley and enough chilli to wake everything up.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2030.