Villadoria Furet Dolcetto d'Alba 2013
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It is an everyday wine, which goes well with all courses, from starters to full flavored pasta and rice dishes and fairly mild flavored meat dishes.
Villadoria, a winery deeply-rooted in tradition is building a bridge to the future. Over the years, the Lanzavecchia family, winemakers for four generations, has witnessed the evolution of an area which has its most precious treasure in wine. The Serralunga d’Alba hills, in the heart of Barolo, is the ideal location for the cultivation of the native vines at the origin of Piedmont’s most prestigious wines. It is in this invaluable land that Villadoria is located on the Cappallotto Estate: over 20 hectares in the heart of the Langhe. From starting as a nursery selling root stock to other growers in the late 1800’s they opened their winery in 1959.
In recent years, Daniele Lanzavecchia turned over the winemaking to his daughter Paola. Her talents have raised the profile of Villadoria by applying the most modern technology to the concept of traditional production, which takes meticulous care with every stage of the process. They farm naturally/sustainably, not using any pesticides or chemical fertilizers and are founding members of the Associazione Nazionale Biotipico.
Paola has renovated the old cellars and brought in new casks and barriques, designed a new tasting room and the overall look and feel of the winery. She is continually improving the quality and flavor profiles of her family’s wines. Her wines are the “new bridge” in the sense that they are softer, more elegant with integrated tannins yet still uphold the “iron fist inside a velvet glove” tradition of what makes Piedmont wines the most prestigious of all of Italy.
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.