Matteo Corregia Roero Arneis 2012

Matteo Corregia is chuffing great producer and this is why: firstly, Matteo himself started growing vines in this region (in the south of Piedmont) in the 1980s, when many thought he was mad for doing so, but he persevered and is fondly remembered as one of the Godfathers of Roero. Secondly, Pearl Jam drink his wines! We’re not even joking: http://ow.ly/pIBXM. But apart from all that, we’d like to say that this wine, made from 100% Arneis, is stunning. With a thwack of lemon and lime and a cool, composed structure, it’s a joy to drink, especially served with seafood.

Roero, in the south of Piedmont, has an extraordinary variety of microclimates and soils which consist mainly of sandy layers. Geology explains the subtle differences between the Roero wines produced from the same grape varieties, because the only thing that this land cannot give are reassuring standard wines – each one is unique and can become extraordinary.

Matteo’s connection to this land is written in the stars. In 2000 the name Roero was given to asteroid 8,075, discovered by the American astronomer Bowel: a small piece of rock, about 15 km across, with an orbit very similar to that of another asteriod, number 13,917, named after Matteo. And so it is that Roero and Matteo Correggia, forever together, travel in the stars.

Wine making takes place in modern wine cellars, in stainless steel vats at controlled temperature, while ageing is done in the large rooms created under a hill, in contact with the fossil rich millennial marlstones, that give them the dampness and quietness necessary as the perfect compliment to the whole process in the vineyards and wine cellars. The barrels are carefully selected for the wines they will host, and gradually replaced according to a twenty-year-long practice. The bottles are decorated with paintings by Coco Cano depicting the gentle slopes planted with vines and bathed by the Roero’s hot sun.

When Matteo Correggia inherited his father’s estate in 1985, the vine-growing boom was a long way off, and farmers on the left bank of the river Tanaro grew fruit and vegetables alongside vines that were used for making wine for a few close friends. Matteo was a young farmer who was very keen on wine growing. He decided that his project was simple and for this reason, he would not give up. Making wines is what he was going to do. It wasn’t an easy decision. Making wines of absolute quality, in a region that was still underestimated – because it was misunderstood – seemed wishful thinking to many.

When destiny chose to deprive the family and the Roero of Matteo in 2001, he had already completed his new wine cellars, gained international recognition, won several awards, met the world’s most important wine makers and, at the same time, kept firm roots with his own region.

Matteo’s connection to this land is written in the stars. In 2000 the name Roero was given to asteroid 8,075, discovered by the American astronomer Bowel: a small piece of rock, about 15 km across, with an orbit very similar to that of another asteriod, number 13,917, named after Matteo. And so it is that Roero and Matteo Correggia, forever together, travel in the stars.

The wine is made from 100% Arneis in Canale, Roero, which is grown on sandy soils, with a low percentage of silt and clay. The vines grow at an altitude of 280-330 metres, on a vertical trellis training system. The vines are pruned with the Guyot method and are manually harvested at the beginning of September. The grapes are lightly pressed and fermented in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature and protected from oxygen. It is then aged in steel vats, with lees contact, for six months.

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