Marrone
Langhe Arneis Tre Fie – 2018
Region: italy - piedmont
Marrone
The origins of Agricola Marrone date back over a century and through four generations where the family has focused on cultivating local grape varietals with a passionate commitment and dedication to the land.
In 1978 ‘Gianpi’ took over full management of Marrone and began a phase of expansion in the vineyards and the cellar space. His wife Giovanna, affectionately known as “Mamma Gio,” orchestrates private hospitality and is the kitchen director. For Giovanna, food is “tradition and Italian values that go hand with our wines.”
When Pietro Marrone was born in 1887, his father Edoardo was already producing wines. In 1910, at 23 years old, he asked his father to plant some vineyards. In the early 1920s/30s the winery began cultivating vineyards using techniques that were revolutionary at the time: reducing production yields to prioritize higher quality and avoiding sowing wheat between vine rows, a standard practice at the time. This decision was an early adoption of what eventually became known as modern cultivation practices widely used in the region today.
Since 2011 the winery has been run by “Tre Fie,” the three daughters of Gian Piero and Giovanna Marrone. Valentina is the winemaker, Serena runs marketing and business operations, and Denise is the hospitality heart and manager of the visitor programs and restaurant. The farm is run with minimal intervention in the vineyard, a philosophy that carries through from harvest to winemaking. The Marrone family pays careful attention to produce wines that are elegantly structured with the potential to evolve for decades.
Grapes / Soils
| Langhe Arneis Tre Fie | Arneis | Vines planted in 1975 | These hills, of recent geological formation, have on the surface a large mainly calcareous soil, with a high presence of quartz sand and very fine lime, alternating with compact layers of gray sandstone. | 5.3 |
The Wine
Vineyard Profile
- Maddona di Como, Alba
- Vines planted 1975
- Training system: Guyot
- Exposure: Northeast
- Altitude: 410 meters
- Recent geological formation hills have mainly calcareous soil on the surface, with high presence of quartz and sand, and very fine lime, alternating with compact layers of gray sandstone
Harvest Notes
Hand harvested the first week of September. Soft pressing with 6-8 hours of skin contact, protected with nitrogen to prevent oxidating aromas. Fermented at 16°C for 20 days in temperature controlled steel tanks, with light over pressure (0.2 bar) to maintain fullness in aromas. Elevage sur lies with batonnage for 5 months. Bottling under nitrogen coverage.
Winemaker's Notes
“Tre Fie” means three daughters in the Piedmontese dialect. Plump, peachy and a touch of haselnut on the nose. Creamy, full-bodied sweetness with a strong line of fresh liquorice, in a way that reminds me of celeriac and the white crispness of freshly chopped fennel bulb. And yet it’s not herbal. It’s languid with angles, sweet fruit with bitter bones, ripe peach and noyaux. Contradictory, unexpected, delicious. I could see this working as happily with a roast root-veg winter salad in a tarragon dressing as it would with a fish pie or a fresh kohlrabi slaw.
Wine Summary
100% Arneis; Maddona di Como vineyard; average vine age 45 years; altitude 410 meters; Northeast aspect; soils mainly calcareous with high presence of quartz and sand, fine limestone and gray sandstone; alcohol 13.5%; hand harvested first week of September; soft pressing with 6-8 hours skin contact; fermented at 16°C for 20 days in temperature controlled steel tanks with light pressure to maintain fullness of aromas. Elevage sur lies with batonnage for 5 months, bottled under nitrogen.
Technical Information
- 100% Arneis grapes
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- TA: 5.7 g/L
- Extract: 20.20 g/L
Reviews
90 Points
Another bright and buoyant expression of the versatile Arneis grape, the Gian Piero Marrone 2018 Langhe Arneis Tre Fie has that glossy and polished nature that I love, with subtle fruit tones that keep the wine beautiful and alive. An attractive mineral note of crushed stone or oyster shell adds sharp edges and delineated contours, setting it up for a mouthwatering shrimp cocktail or some light shellfish appetizer. 2020 – 2022
© Wine Advocate, July, 2020
16.5 Points
Tre Fie means ‘three daughters’ in Piemontese dialect. 100% Arneis made with a few hours of skin contact.
Plump, peachy and a touch of hazelnut on the nose. Creamy, full-bodied sweetness with a strong line of fresh liquorice, in a way that reminds me of celeriac and the white crispness of freshly chopped fennel bulb. And yet it’s not herbal. It’s languid with angles, sweet fruit with bitter bones, ripe peach and noyaux. Contradictory, unexpected, delicious. I could see this working as happily with a roast root-veg winter salad in a tarragon dressing as it would with a fish pie or a fresh kohlrabi slaw. 2019 – 2022
JancisRobinson.com, May, 2019
General Info
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Appellation(s) | Barolo DOCG; Langhe DOC |
| Proprietors | Gian Piero Marrone |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Winemaker | Valentina Marrone |
| Annual Production | 4600 9L cases |
| Farming (Sustainable, organic, biodynamic) | Organic |
