Italy · Roero

Angelo Negro e Figli

Angelo Negro e Figli has farmed the Roero hills above the Tanaro since 1670. In 1971, Giovanni Negro bottled Arneis as a dry white wine when the grape was still used mainly for blending, and that decision became a founding moment for the Roero appellation. The estate produces Roero Arneis, Roero Nebbiolo, Langhe Nebbiolo, Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba, and Barbera d'Alba across roughly 70 hectares farmed under Equalitas sustainability certification.

The producer

Angelo Negro e Figli works the sandy Roero hills on the right bank of the Tanaro, across the river from the Langhe where Barolo and Barbaresco are made. The soils here are older and lighter, laid down by marine deposits, and they give Arneis a character it cannot develop on the heavier clays across the water. Giovanni Negro saw that in 1971, when he harvested Arneis separately, vinified it alone, and bottled it dry under the Serra Lupini name. No market existed for dry Arneis as a standalone wine. He built one. The variety is now the signature grape of the Roero DOCG white appellation, and the estate has been its most persistent advocate for more than fifty years.

The range runs from that founding Arneis white through two further Nebbiolo expressions and a Barbera. Roero DOCG Nebbiolo is 100% Nebbiolo from the Prachiosso parcel at altitude on the home estate. The Angelin Langhe Nebbiolo uses floating-cap maceration in stainless steel and 12 months on stainless, giving Nebbiolo fruit without oak weight. The Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba gets 38 months between large Slavonian oak barrels and bottle, which keeps the grape's aromatics forward while the tannins from Serralunga's compact soils slowly resolve. The Nicolon Barbera d'Alba goes through 10 to 12 days of traditional maceration in stainless steel and delivers cherry, musk, and blackberry with a clean acid line. The estate holds Equalitas sustainability certification from Valoritalia.

Known for

Roero Arneis; Roero Nebbiolo; Barolo Serralunga d'Alba

Notable facts

The story

The Grape Nobody Wanted

In the Roero of the 1960s, Arneis was not a wine grape in any practical sense. Growers planted it in small numbers between the Nebbiolo rows, where it softened the hard tannins when a little was blended in with the red, and its presence in the vineyard distracted birds and insects from the Nebbiolo bunches. The variety had a nickname from Piedmontese dialect, arneis, meaning something like little rascal, and it had earned the name honestly: the grape was acidic, prone to oxidation, and nobody had built a commercial market for it as a still white wine. Giovanni Negro harvested the Arneis separately in 1971, vinified it alone, and bottled it under the Serra Lupini name. He had no category to place it in and no precedent to point at. Fourteen years later, in 1985, the estate introduced the Giovanni Roero Arneis Metodo Classico sparkling wine and named it after him. The grape he rescued is now the defining variety of the Roero DOCG white appellation.

From the atlas

Angelo Negro e Figli

At A Glance

EstateAngelo Negro e Figli
VillageMonteu Roero, Piemonte
ZoneRoero DOCG (and Barolo DOCG, Serralunga d'Alba)
Key GrapesArneis, Nebbiolo, Barbera
Founded1670
Hectares~70
CertificationEqualitas (Valoritalia)

The Producer

Angelo Negro e Figli has farmed the Roero hills above the Tanaro since 1670, when Giovanni Domenico Negro first cultivated the sandy slopes above the village of Monteu Roero. Three centuries of continuous farming is interesting background. What separates this estate from a long genealogy of Piedmontese family farms is a single decision made by Giovanni Negro in 1971: he bottled Arneis as a dry white wine at a moment when the grape was considered a blending component at best, a weed-suppressor between Nebbiolo rows at worst.

Arneis was disappearing. Growers in Roero had no commercial use for it as a standalone wine, so they planted less of it each decade. Giovanni Negro looked at the grape, saw something worth saving, and bottled it alone. No market existed yet. He built one anyway. The estate has been Arneis's most persistent advocate since, and the grape is now the signature variety of the Roero DOCG white appellation.

The winery today spans roughly 70 hectares across Roero and reaches into the Langhe for Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba. Its Equalitas sustainability certification from Valoritalia covers environmental and social governance across the vineyard and winery.

Place

Monteu Roero sits on the right bank of the Tanaro river, directly across from the Langhe hills where Barolo and Barbaresco are made. The two zones look at each other across the water but the soils tell different stories. Langhe soils are mostly calcareous clay. Roero soils are older and sandier, laid down by marine deposits, and they drain faster and warm earlier in spring. Arneis performs differently on those sandy hillsides than Nebbiolo does on the heavier Langhe clays across the river: lighter body, lower tannin, and earlier-drinking whites that carry fruit and flower rather than weight.

The Roero DOCG covers two styles: white wine from Arneis and red wine from Nebbiolo. Both carry the same DOCG designation, which can confuse a first-time buyer. At Angelo Negro, the white expression is Serra Lupini and the red Roero Nebbiolo comes from the Prachiosso parcel. For Barolo, the estate moves east across the Tanaro to a vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba, a commune known for compact soils and wines that need time.

Soil And Site

The historic vineyards Perdaudin and Prachiosso both sit within the Roero estate at Monteu Roero. The sandy marine soils of the Roero give the Arneis vines good drainage and a long hang time without accumulating the excess sugar that heavier soils can produce. The Prachiosso parcel is planted to Nebbiolo at altitude, which slows ripening and preserves acidity in the red Roero DOCG wine. In Serralunga d'Alba, the Barolo vineyard sits on the commune's compact soils, which produce slower, more tannic Nebbiolo than the lighter slopes elsewhere in the Barolo zone.

Story

Founded in 1670, the estate's historic vineyards include Perdaudin and Prachiosso. Its range also includes Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba.

The Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba ages 38 months between Slavonian oak and bottle. It has a clean, intense bouquet with scents of withered rose, violets, cherry and forest fruits. The estate holds Equalitas sustainability certification from Valoritalia.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate uses different cellar approaches for each grape in the range. Arneis for the Serra Lupini spends time on the lees in stainless steel, which adds weight and texture to a grape that can otherwise run thin. No oak. The lees contact rounds the fruit and gives the wine its characteristic softness without adding flavour from the barrel.

The Angelin Langhe Nebbiolo undergoes floating-cap maceration in stainless steel for 15 to 18 days, which extracts colour and tannin without the intensity of a longer soak or oak contact. The wine then matures for 12 months in stainless steel, keeping the Nebbiolo fruit forward and the tannin accessible earlier than the Barolo would be. This is Nebbiolo vinified for an approachable register.

For the Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba, the cellar takes a more traditional route: 38 months total ageing split between large Slavonian oak barrels and bottle. Slavonian oak transfers less vanilla and toasty character than smaller French barriques, which keeps the Nebbiolo aromatics cleaner and lets the grape's own tannin and dried fruit develop over time rather than being shaped by the wood.

The Nicolon Barbera d'Alba goes through traditional maceration in stainless steel for 10 to 12 days, enough to extract the grape's natural depth of colour and fresh acidity without over-extracting tannin.

Wines

The range covers five core wines across four grapes.

Serra Lupini Roero Arneis DOCG is 100% Arneis from the estate's Roero parcels. Stainless steel fermentation and lees ageing. Straw yellow in the glass. The nose opens with peach, acacia flower, and a thread of tropical fruit. Light-bodied, with the kind of freshness that comes from sandy soils and early picking. Serra Lupini Roero Arneis is 100% Arneis.

Roero DOCG Nebbiolo is 100% Nebbiolo from the Prachiosso parcel at altitude in the Roero. The red Roero expression is less well-known internationally than Barolo or Barbaresco but shares the same grape and similar aromatic DNA: rose, dried cherry, and a mineral edge that comes from the sandy soils rather than the heavier Langhe clays.

Angelin Langhe Nebbiolo DOC is Nebbiolo vinified for earlier drinking. Floating-cap maceration for 15 to 18 days in stainless steel, then 12 months in stainless steel. Ruby red with orange highlights as it ages. The tannins are present but not demanding. The fruit sits forward: dried cherry, a light floral note, and clean finish without oak weight.

Barolo Serralunga d'Alba DOCG is the estate's most structured wine. 38 months between Slavonian oak and bottle. The bouquet is clean and intense: withered rose, violets, cherry, and forest fruits. Serralunga Barolo needs time; the wine is built for the medium term and beyond.

Nicolon Barbera d'Alba DOC is 10 to 12 days of traditional maceration in stainless steel. Intense ruby with violet highlights. Maraschino cherry, musk, and blackberry on the nose. A medium-weight, food-friendly red with natural acidity that keeps the fruit lifted.

In The Glass

The Serra Lupini Arneis rises from the glass with peach and acacia flower, clean and fragrant rather than aromatic in a heavy or perfumed way. In the mouth, the lees ageing fills the mid-palate a little more than you expect from a lightweight white, and the acidity runs through cleanly on the finish. It drinks well young.

The Angelin Langhe Nebbiolo shows Nebbiolo's character at a lighter register: cherry fruit, a floral edge, and the grape's characteristic fine tannin on the palate, all kept fresh by the stainless steel maturation. The orange tinge that appears at the rim as the wine develops points to early ageing rather than a wine built to last years.

The Barolo arrives differently. Withered rose and dried cherry on the nose, then a structured, tannic palate shaped by Serralunga's compact soils and the long period in Slavonian oak. The tannins are present and drying on young bottles; the wine asks for patience and rewards it with dark fruit depth and the rose-petal aromatics that make aged Nebbiolo distinctive.

The Nicolon Barbera delivers its cherry and blackberry fruit with a violet freshness that the short maceration protects. Its natural acidity keeps the fruit lifted at the table.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Serra Lupini Roero Arneis DOCG. It is 100% Arneis, fermented and aged on the lees in stainless steel, straw yellow, with peach, acacia flower, and a rounded mid-palate from the lees contact. No oak. Light acidity that stays alive from first sip through the finish. It is the bottle Giovanni Negro made the market for in 1971, and it is the clearest expression of what the Roero hills on their sandy right bank do with a grape that exists almost nowhere else.

Anecdote

In the Roero of the 1960s, Arneis was not a wine grape in any practical sense. Growers planted it in small numbers between the Nebbiolo rows, where it served two purposes: it softened the hard tannins when a little was added to the red blend, and its presence in the vineyard distracted birds and insects from the Nebbiolo bunches. The variety had a nickname from the Piedmontese dialect, arneis, meaning something like little rascal, and it had earned it. The grape was acidic and difficult to stabilise, and nobody had built a commercial market for it as a still white wine. Giovanni Negro harvested the Arneis separately in 1971, vinified it alone, and bottled it under the Serra Lupini name. He had no category to put it in and no precedent to point at. The Giovanni Roero Arneis Metodo Classico sparkling wine, introduced fourteen years later in 1985, was named after him. The grape he rescued is now the defining variety of the Roero DOCG white appellation.

Final Word

Angelo Negro e Figli sits at an unusual intersection: a Roero estate with 350 years of farming behind it, a founding role in the modern Arneis story, and a range that runs from accessible white and Langhe Nebbiolo through to a serious Serralunga Barolo. The estate rewards buyers who explore more than one bottle. The Serra Lupini Arneis explains the place and the history. The Barolo explains the cellar's ambition.

Sources

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