Best Roero Arneis 2024: the “white Nebbiolo” is the surprise of Grandi Langhe 2026

Best Roero Arneis 2024: the “white Nebbiolo” is the surprise of Grandi Langhe 2026.

The Roero Arneis 2024 arrived at Grandi Langhe 2026 with a technical profile that, on paper, did not suggest any particular brilliance. Yet, in the glass, the so-called “white Nebbiolo” showed an ability to interpret the vintage beyond expectations, becoming one of the event’s surprises.

A native white grape variety of Roero, with medium vigor and generally regular production, Arneis ripens mid-season, between the second and third week of September. It is cultivated mainly in Roero and in the lower part of Langhe, around Alba, and forms the base of Roero Arneis DOCG, Langhe DOC Arneis and Terre Alfieri DOC. In its classic profile it expresses floral aromas, measured freshness, moderate acidity and fine structure.

The 2024 vintage, as documented in the usual harvest report from Vignaioli Piemontesi, marked a return to more adequate volumes after the drastic production drop of 2023, affected by widespread hail in July of that year. From a physiological standpoint, however, the vintage was complex.

Flowering, a delicate phase for a demanding variety like Arneis, suffered from less than ideal conditions. Veraison started slightly late and developed slowly. At the end of August, sugar accumulation was very low, below 15° Babo, and subsequent checks did not show significant increases.

The final data showed grapes with below-average alcohol potential and rather low acidity levels, even lower than those of 2023. The ratio between sugars and acidity remained similar to the previous year, but at lower absolute values. This raised the risk of wines lacking power and freshness.

Compensating for this, relatively low pH and a very good sanitary profile of the grapes. The average berry weight, stabilizing around 2 grams (+50% compared to 2023), also contributed to outlining a different production scenario, with clusters more balanced from a water standpoint.

In this context, the tasting of Roero Arneis 2024 presented at Grandi Langhe 2026 highlighted interpretations capable of transforming a technically “light” vintage into an expression focused on finesse, aromatic precision and measured alcohol. Not wines of volume, but labels that emphasize balance, cleanliness and territorial readability.

Perhaps not the vintage to cellar for too many years, but certainly the right one for extremely enjoyable wines, especially in the more “rich” and balanced interpretations, capable of offering the usual mineral profile and well-preserved fruit. Below are Winemag’s scores out of 100, outlining the best Roero Arneis 2024 tasted at Grandi Langhe 2026.