Italiano
A Dolcetto for fall
Summer is over and already the craving for red wine is growing. Dolcetto is a delicious wine with the advantage that it can also be drunk chilled, a wine that takes us by the hand to bring us into the autumn climate.
Dolcetto is not a sweet wine. This is to clear the field of misunderstandings. It is so called because it is derived from grapes of the same name, which are sweet but not very sweet, hence "a little sweet," that are grown in Piedmont, mainly in the areas of Alba and Dogliani, but also in Acqui, Asti, Monferrato and other areas as well. However, Dogliani, where Barolo can no longer be made, is considered to be the home of choice for this type, so much so that it loses the name of the grape variety and is called by that of the municipality of reference. We could say that Dogliani stands for Dolcetto as Barolo or Barbaresco stands for Nebbiolo and Nice stands for Barbera.
But what is, what are "the" Dolcetto and Dogliani? They are wines with a deep ruby-purple color, they generally have very fruity aromas and are very enjoyable to drink especially as the weather gets cooler in the fall and by pairing it with typical foods of the season. It is fantastic with mixed boiled meats, with mushrooms, with raw meat all'albese, with agnolotti, with roast chicken, with lasagna.
An eclectic red that can be drunk fresh from the cellar, even at 14 degrees Celsius, that has no particular edginess, excellent body, perhaps some tannic astringency when very young, but that makes drinkability its best feature. What's more, it doesn't cost a fortune, and even the best can be purchased by those who were not millionaires.
Here I propose three. The first is a Dogliani Superiore, a true "top of the line" in its category. It is produced by Marziano Abbona and is called Papa Celso, and is dedicated to his father, of course. It is a mighty wine, which can even age a few years, but it is excellent even when young and is a true top of its class.
The second is another great exponent of the "dolcetto" family. It is the Dogliani Briccolero by Nicola Chionetti, grandson of the legendary Quinto Chionetti, one of the fathers of the homeland of Dogliani wines. It is perhaps the one that ages best in its type, and is considered a great classic.
For the third we have to move to Alba, and in particular to Barolo, where Luciano Sandrone, a legendary and iconic Barolo producer, offers a simply delicious Dolcetto d'Alba, one of those little gems not to be missed. And this is the best time of year to enjoy at least one.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Marziano Abbona
Dogliani Superiore Papà Celso 2020
94/100 - € 15,00
100% Dolcetto. Solo acciaio sui lieviti per 10 mesi. Rubino violaceo brillante. Nitido, tipico, con sentori di viola, amarena, ribes nero, accenni di pietra focaia. Sapore caldo, agile, salino, composto, con tannini bene integrati, corpo di ottimo spessore, finale di sorprendente persistenza per la sua tipologia.
Q
uinto Chionetti
Dogliani Briccolero 2019
93/100 - € 15,00
100% Dolcetto. Un anno fra cemento e botti grandi. Rubino molto intenso e vivo. Fragrante e fruttato, con note di viola, amarena, accenni di pietra focaia e di cassis. Sapore agile, salino, caldo, composto, con tannini appena accennati.
Luciano Sandrone
Dolcetto d’Alba 2018
94/100 - € 13,00
100% Dolcetto. Solo acciaio. Rubino violaceo intenso. Delizioso e tipico al naso, con sentori fragranti di piccoli frutti di bosco, viola e amarena. Sapore caldo e composto, salino, avvolgente, di strepitosa bevibilità. Una piccola meraviglia.
