Blangé (2023)

About this wine

This Langhe Arneis from Ceretto is a pure expression of the Arneis grape, grown in the hills around Vezza d Alba, Castellinaldo, Canale and Alba in Piedmont. The nose is intense and inviting with notes of ripe pear, crisp apple, white peach and citrus, layered with subtle tropical fruit and a gentle hint of fresh almond. On the palate it is medium bodied and very fruity, combining juicy orchard fruit with lemon and grapefruit accents over a line of clean minerality. Fresh acidity keeps the wine lively while a soft, slightly rounded texture and a lightly chalky feel on the finish give it balance and length. A key feature of Blangé is the use of cold skin contact for about twelve hours at around five degrees Celsius, a technique that boosts primary aromas and preserves the delicacy of the fruit. First released in 1985, this wine helped revive Arneis as a serious white from the Langhe and remains one of the region’s best known and most widely enjoyed examples.

About the grape

Arneis is an old white grape from the Roero hills in Piedmont, first documented in the 1400s and long used mainly as a blending partner to soften Nebbiolo before almost dying out in the mid twentieth century. In the nineteen eighties producers like the Ceretto family backed Arneis as a stand alone variety and planted it widely on the sandy and calcareous slopes around Vezza d Alba and other Roero villages, helping to revive its fortunes. For Blange the grape is grown organically in Langhe and Roero vineyards at modest altitudes on clay and sand rich soils and the berries are briefly chilled on their skins before fermentation to pull out Arneis signature floral and stone fruit aromas. This approach turned Arneis from a nearly forgotten farm grape into one of the emblematic white varieties of modern Langhe and a key counterpoint to the regions famous reds.

Quick facts

• 🤍 Blangé was a rebellious idea in 1985 when Ceretto decided to champion a nearly forgotten Arneis grape in a land famous mainly for powerful red wines
• 🥖 The name Blangé comes from the word for baker in French and refers to a plot once owned by a French baker who settled near Cherasco centuries ago
• 📈 Ceretto owns such a large slice of Arneis vineyards that roughly one in every ten bottles of Arneis made in Piedmont carries the Blangé label
• 👀 The original Blangé label created by designer Silvio Coppola was considered cheeky because its white on white design suggests a little window teasing you to peek at the wine inside
• 🌍 Blangé helped spark a white wine revolution in the Langhe turning a little known local grape into a global hit especially popular with younger drinkers and people discovering Piedmont for the first time

Palate profile

Producer

Founded in the 1930s by Riccardo Ceretto in Alba, Italy, the Ceretto winery initially produced wines from purchased grapes. In the 1960s, his sons, Bruno and Marcello, revolutionized the business by acquiring vineyards in prestigious areas like Barolo and Barbaresco, emphasizing the importance of terroir. The third generation, including Alessandro Ceretto, joined in 1999, steering the winery towards organic and biodynamic practices, achieving organic certification in 2015. Beyond winemaking, Ceretto has integrated art and architecture into their estates, featuring installations like the colorful Barolo Chapel and the futuristic 'Grape' tasting room.