FOLLOW > WATCH > LISTEN > ENJOY!

What you need to know to choose the best Dolcetto

Being born in the land of Nebbiolo (king Barolo and queen Barbaresco’s reign), throughout most of its native region, Dolcetto is treated as a “second fiddle” wine, being used as an early cash source owing to its quicker ripening; such attitude produces decent but unremarkable wines. In the Langhe region it is more valuable, from a business point of view, to plant Nebbiolo instead of other indigenous varieties and this caused a decrease of 20% in Dolcetto plantings in the last decade.

Some vintners, however, treat the variety with more respect, and these often produce very good wines. Especially in areas, like Dogliani and Diano d’Alba, which are  vacated and voted  to the  cultivation of  Dolcetto: the best sites here (on calcareous soils)  are  reserved to Dolcetto, not to Nebbiolo or Barbera.  In Diano D’Alba the producers  choose  the best sites on the base of a geological zoning study which mapped tens of different terroirs within a few kilometres of hillside vineyards. Dogliani and Diano D’Alba are the only  two  appellation with the DOCG seal (the highest rank in the Italian appellations system). Dolcetto D’Alba is a DOC.

The characteristics of Dolcetto, in general, are a black-cherry flavor with hints  of licorice and overtones of prune or black pepper, and with a characteristic slightly bitter almonds finish. The wines are typically dry and medium-bodied, low acidity with numerous but soft tannins and a rich texture. It is widely regarded as a “food wine”, being thought to be insufficiently fruit-laden to drink on its own, which is not entirely true.

Dolcetto wines are not usually considered candidates for bottle aging  (the lack of acidity is a limit), and drink best within their first two or three years (there are, however, always a few exceptional bottlings that breach the rule, especially in Dogliani).

Most monovarietal Dolcetto wines come in two grades: standard and Superiore, the latter requiring a minimum alcohol level of 12.5% (standard can be as low as 11.5%) and a year of bottle age.

There are eight Dolcetto-producing appellations, but three of them are reputed to produce the highest-quality Dolcetto wines; those are, as mentioned previously:

  • Dolcetto d’Alba DOC: by far the most commonly exported Dolcetto, tends to be the richer and full-body version
  • Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore DOCG :  more floral, fresher, longest-lived Dolcettos  with a good  structure and backbone
  • Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba DOCG: elegant, with good acidity, somehow in between the 2 styles described above.

In the video linked below I taste two versions of Dolcetto, one from Alba and one from Dogliani.

  • Dolcetto d’Alba DOC,  Giacomo e Figli Brezza, 2016
  • Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore DOCG, Sori’ dij But (name of the vineyard), Anna Maria Abbona (winery) 2016

Both these wines can be purchased online on Wine Splurge  (link  below) who generously sent me the samples for  this video.

https://winesplurge.com/red-wine/dolcetto/

Other Dolcettos worthy to try:

VIDEO
 

https://youtu.be/5XaNQlxLbXI 
FOLLOW > WATCH > LISTEN > ENJOY!
FacebookTwitterEmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Articoli recenti

  • | , ,

    In the Loire Valley in seven words

    Loire Valley tour to discover chateaux, wines, landscapes: new denominations, sparkling, rosès and more in this 2023 press tour
  • |

    From Ukraine war to Chianti rolling hills: the story of Ines Berezina de Moschetti

    Escaped from Ukraine war Ines Berezina de Moschetti rebuilt her life on the Chianti hills, as a winery director
  • |

    Diversity in the wine world: is Italian Wine inclusive?

    In the US, only 2% of professionals are black and mentorship programs flourish. In Italy? The question is not being asked.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Don't miss a drop of Italian wine

* The compilation of the above form does not storage any data entered, the storage and use of the data will take place only after explicit confirmation contained in the email that will be sent after pressing the "subscribe" button

X
icon-instagram-whiteicon-facebook-whiteicon-spotify-whiteicon-youtube-whiteicon-linkedin-whiteicon-clubhouse-white