Into the Valley of the Priest, turn left at the little red wolf (also called Arneis), and look back at this natural (totally biodynamic) amphitheater of Roerian excellence. Yes, that's Alfalfa on those hilltops!Val del Prete (Valley of the Priest)
IN SHORT: Mario Roagna works on a biodynamic farm in the center of a natural amphitheater of vines, itself in a valley that's named after the exiled Bishop of Asti, Felice de Gresy. Poor bsihop exiled in 1850! (val = valley, prete = priest, so 'Valley of the Priest'. I guess Bishop got downgraded to priest during the exile.) The vines are in the Roero, an area more bucolic with woods and fields of flowers, instead of every-inch with Nebbiolo vines, as seems to be the case with its more famous breathen Barolo and Barberesco. Roerian soils usually tend to be sandier, Val del Prete's have a bit of sand but more clay and marl, as seen in Barbersco. Mario Roagna is a thoughtful and observant farmer; he gets a kick out of things like differnent kinds of wild herbs and flowers for each row of his vines; his enthusiasim for soil health and diversity is contageous. His Arneis is quite the cute native gem. But, all his wines have a wholesome balance of great fruit and freshness about them, with just a touch of minerality. 11 ha, 4166 cs.; non filtered and native yeast. No fertiliziers or chemicals, only Bordeaux mixture.
