Top 10 Dolcetto

by Daniele Cernilli 02/10/23 |

A widespread grape variety and beloved Piedmont wine, Dolcetto continues to grow in the hearts of many consumers. Here is our ranking of the top 10.

Native to Piedmont, where it is widespread, (and Liguria, where it takes the name Ormeasco), Dolcetto is among the region's best-loved and most traditional varieties. This grape variety prefers hilly soils, as long as they are dry and not very fertile, is fairly resistant to disease, average yielding, and above all, its quality is consistent year after year.

The wine made from it has a beautiful ruby-purple color, fragrant and vinous aromas, and the right body combines good alcohol content: it is balanced in acidity and smoothness, and has a characteristic and pleasant bitterish aftertaste. This great pleasantness explains, together with the good quality/price ratio, the secret of its success, which crosses Piedmontese borders.

At harvest, Dolcetto (which, let us remember, is sweet in name only) is quite early, and it is the first wine of the vintage to be ready. In the best areas it gives a wine of good stuff, capable of aging for more than a few years. It has received DOC recognition in as many as seven areas of Piedmont, in each of which it expresses different nuances. The most robust and long-lived are those from Alba, Diano d'Alba and Dogliani (the latter Docg).

This is our ranking of the best Dolcettos, with Marziano Abbona's Papà Celso towering above them all, followed by many on a par. A list of wines of the highest quality and great taste pleasure. To read the scores (where there are ex aequo the order is alphabetical), description and price, click on the name.

These wines are all 100% Dolcetto. We point out, off the charts, the Bricco del Drago di Poderi Colla, of the Langhe appellation, which calls for 85 percent Dolcetto with the balance Nebbiolo.

Related Products

Product	Producer	Date of publication	Author	Read
Papà Celso 2021 Dogliani Superiore	Marziano Abbona	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli	100% Dolcetto. Stainless steel on the yeasts for 10 months. Intense violet ruby red color. Very typical and varietal, fragrant aromas of violets, black cherries and black currant. Warm and savory... Leggi tutto
Marziano Abbona		03/18/14	Redazione	A great producer of Dolcetto di Dogliani, or more simply Dogliani as the appellation is now called, Marziano Abbona brings together skill, a nice personality and esthetic taste, as is evident by the... Leggi tutto
Briccolero 2020 Dogliani	Chionetti	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli	100% Dolcetto grapes. Aged for 12 months in cement and then large casks. Very intense and lively ruby color. Typical and fragrant aromas, with notes of black cherry, violet, and scent of flint. ... Leggi tutto
Chionetti		07/07/17	Redazione	At the helm of the winery since 2013, before the death of his grandfather Quinto, Nicola Chionetti had decided to focus on Dogliani and to recover the production of the La Costa cru already wanted by... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2020 Dolcetto d'Alba	Giuseppe Rinaldi	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Giuseppe Rinaldi		06/04/11	Redazione	The legacy of Beppe "Citrico" Rinaldi, who left us in 2018, is now in the hands of his two daughters Marta and Carlotta, as well as his wife Annalisa, who may be less charismatic, but are certainly... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2020 Dolcetto d'Alba	Rosanna Sandri	02/10/23	Vinogodi
Rosanna Sandri		02/10/23	Redazione	A tiny winery in Treiso, in the heart of Barbaresco. The four hectares of vineyards are cultivated with maniacal love, almost as if they were gardens, with a near religious regard for sustainability.... Leggi tutto
Barturot 2020 Dolcetto d'Alba	Ca’ Viola	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Ca’ Viola		02/22/12	Redazione	Enologist Beppe Viola is one of the most famous names in the Piedmont winemaking scene (Enologist of the year for our guide, 2019 edition). He started off working in a lab analyzing wines and then... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2020 Dolcetto d'Alba	Luciano Sandrone	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Luciano Sandrone		09/29/22	Redazione	“Sandrone never misses” is what his fellow Barolo winemakers say about him. And, in fact, if he has ever made a mistake, no one knows about it. His wines are all very good above all his... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2021 Dolcetto d'Alba	Cascina Amalia	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Cascina Amalia		05/29/15	Redazione	The estate came into being in 2003 after the Boffa family – mother, father and son Paolo, acquired an old farmhouse built in the early 20th century in the hills of Monforte d’Alba. Soon... Leggi tutto
Le parole servon tanto 2018 Ovada Riserva	Cascina Gentile	02/10/23	Livia Belardelli	100% Dolcetto grapes. Aged for at least 24 months in second fill barrique. Ruby color with garnet hues. On the nose it offers notes of mint, after eight and juniper. Warm palate, very fresh and with... Leggi tutto
Cascina Gentile		02/10/23	Redazione	The winery carries the name of grandfather Giovanni Gentile, born in 1909, who in the past aside from wine also produced a little bit of everything, grapes and vegetables, crops and various fruits.... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2021 Dolcetto d'Alba	Fiorenzo Nada	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Fiorenzo Nada		02/10/23	Redazione	Bruno Nada, the son of Fiorenzo who founded the winery, produces elegant and modern Barbera from the Rombone and Manzola vineyards in Tresio. The first, that surrounds the winery, gives complex wines... Leggi tutto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2020 Dolcetto d'Alba	Giacomo Borgogno e Figli	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli
Giacomo Borgogno e Figli		11/28/11	Redazione	Today this historic and inescapable estate belongs to Oscar Farinetti, Mr. Eataly, and his family who, very intelligently, decided to change little or nothing of the traditional style of its wines.... Leggi tutto
Bricco del Drago 2016 Langhe	Poderi Colla	02/10/23	Daniele Cernilli	Blend of 85% Dolcetto and 15% Nebbiolo grapes. Aged for 12 months in large casks. Very intense ruby color. Charming and complex nose of violet, blackberry, rose, subtle licorice and red plum.... Leggi tutto
Poderi Colla		02/10/23	Redazione	Beppe Colla was one of the great characters of Langa, who had marked decades of viticulture for Barolo and Barbaresco, first as owner of Prunotto in Alba, then in the historical family winery. He... Leggi tutto