Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with red meats, braises and goat or sheep's milk cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Really gorgeous dolcetto with lots of gorgeous ripe-fruit, hazelnut and plum aromas and flavors. Full body, velvety tannins and a savory finish. This is always great. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of dark-skinned fruit, underbrush, mocha, spice and a balsamic note lead the nose on this structured Dolcetto. The full-bodied palate doles out mature blackberry, dried black cherry, licorice and ground pepper alongside chewy tannins. A note of bitter almond signals the close.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant Dolcetto, featuring violet, black currant and black pepper flavors, with toasted spice accents. Structured and long, presenting hints of chocolate and fine tannins on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2018. 580 cases made.
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.
The hills of Dogliani, just to the south of the Barolo zone, produce the very best Dolcetto wines in the world. Its rolling hills reach higher elevations than those of Barolo and the area maintains strong Dolcetto vineyards as well as groves of hazelnut trees, farmland, pastures, and forests. Dogliani became its own DOCG in 2005; in order for a Dolcetto to be classified as Dogliani DOCG, it must come from one of the following communes: Bastia Mondovì, Belvedere Langhe, Clavesana, Cigliè, Dogliani, Farigliano, Monchiero, Rocca Cigliè, Roddino and Somano. Dogliani DOCG must have a deep red color, elegance, intense fruit, and aromas of currants, raspberry, and blackberry.