Marrone Dolcetto d'Alba Carlot 2012
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Pietro Marrone was born in 1887, to a family that already cultivated grapes for the production of wine. Very passionate and extremely ambitious from an early age, he wanted the family’s grapes to be the finest in the village. In 1910, at the age of 23, he asked his father Edoardo if he could cultivate some vineyards using techniques that were revolutionary at the time: reducing production to prioritize higher quality and avoiding sowing wheat between the rows of vines, which was standard practice at the time. Naturally, the family’s grapes became the finest in the village and gradually all the vineyards were converted to modern cultivation practices.
Carlo was born in 1924 and, along with his brothers Paolo and Michele and their sister Mariuccia, helped his father Pietro to expand the company, both in terms of quantity and quality. Unfortunately, the Second World War came along, bringing with it a forced period away from the vineyards and his loved ones. After the war, Carlo resumed his work in the vineyard and in the cellar with even greater passion than before. The wines became better and better, with some becoming “Pichemej” (“more than better”, in Piedmontese dialect), as Pietro liked to call them when they were really great. The farmhouse became more and more beautiful and began to become known in the village as “Cascina Carlot”, Carlo’s farmhouse.
Gian Piero was born in 1955. The wine gene had become part of the family’s DNA, passed down from generation to generation, so, when he finished high school, he devoted himself to the production of wines with the same passion as his father. Day by day, he made his dream – to present his wines all over the world – come true. The time was ripe to plant native white grapes in the vineyards: Arneis, Favorita and Moscato, in addition to the red varieties Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo, and of course Nebbiolo for Barbaresco and Barolo.
Gian Piero’s three daughters, Denise, Serena and Valentina, work alongside Gian Piero to achieve increasingly ambitious goals. Valentina is the family’s oenologist; she works to achieve quality every day, with passion and tenacity. Serena handles administration and foreign markets; she is the beating heart of the company’s organization. Denise is the face that greets you upon arrival at the winery. Taking care of hospitality, she is aided by her mother Giovanna in the kitchen and by a dynamic and highly skilled staff. She also takes care of the German-speaking markets. Marco, Serena’s husband, has been part of the family for many years now. He handles some of the company’s most important export markets, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, America and China.
An easy drinking red with soft fruity flavors—but catchy tannins, Dolcetto is often enjoyed in its native Piedmont on a casual weekday night, or for apertivo (the canonical Piedmontese pre-dinner appetizer hour). Somm Secret—In most of Piedmont, easy-ripening Dolcetto is relegated to the secondary sites—the best of which are reserved for the king variety: Nebbiolo. However, in the Dogliani zone it is the star of the show, and makes a more serious style of Dolcetto, many of which can improve with cellar time.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.