Dolcetto of course! Oddly, there are few native or traditional varieties in Italy that begin with a D. Dindarella in the Veneto is less commonly used these days, though it is one of the best grapes to dry for Amarone della Valpolicella. But it doesn’t produce much color, and drops acidity rapidly as it matures, unfavorable characteristics these days. Drupeggio, aka Canaiolo Bianco? Well, it is a solid blending variety in Orvieto, along with Procanico, Grechetto et al but let’s face it, its real name begins with a C and is still not an important variety in the big scheme of things. Finally, I thought about Durella, a white grape found in the Veneto, too, but closer to Treviso. it has character, for sure, but not much is seen or found in the market place outside of the Veneto region’s eastern area.
Dolcetto it is. Having spent a great deal of time in Piemonte since the late 70’s, I fell for Dolcetto’s early appeal, crunchy, rich fruit and firm, earthy, dark fruity flavors when it was served almost as an aperitif by growers. Given that virtually no white Piemontese wines were around then, maybe some Cortese di Gavi if you were adventurous, Dolcetto was the vino da pasta with their housemade salumi and local cheeses before sitting down to a meal, or welcoming a guest. Mostly, Dolcetto was their ‘go-to, everyday wine. I find it, especially in the DOCG known as Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba & DOC Dolcetto d’Alba, a step above, comparable to the best Beaujolais Crus, but fuller and more unambiguously denser.
Traditional high-trained Dolcetto in Diano d’Alba, 1996 (JBMW)
Friend, colleague and Italian wine expert Ian D’Agata writes in his stellar work on Italy’s native varieties, “While the wine made with Dolcetto is resolutely dry, never sweet, the grapes are quite sweet and low in acidity (which explains its name, “little sweet one”). Dolcetto… was always much in favor as a table grape. However, it is a difficult variety to work with, and that is one reason why it has slowly been falling out of favor with those who have to tend the vines and makes the wines. For one of Italy’s best-loved and most-planted varieties, Dolcetto’s history and origins aren’t well known.”
D'Agata, Ian. Native Wine Grapes of Italy (p. 269). University of California Press. Kindle Edition.
It appears documented only since the 16th century, though likely it is much older. Today, it is generally associated only with the Piemonte Region of Italy in the northwest. But we now find it grown in Australia, the US, and New Zealand.
What appealed to growers in the Langhe district of Piemonte was Dolcetto’s earlier ripening time frame, at least a month before Nebbiolo and usually a couple of weeks before Piemonte’s other ubiquitous, popular variety, Barbera. Also, Dolcetto could produce good wines at rather more yield than Nebbiolo, and could also make decent wine in less than ideal terroirs, usually towards the bottom of the slopes where the soils were heavier, with more clay. Still it is not a generous variety, quantity wise
Certainly in the main areas dedicated to Barolo and Barbaresco Nebbiolo, Dolcetto got the least favorable vineyard sites. Only in a few zones, the two DOCG areas of Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba & Dolcetto di Dogliani (now just named Dogliani DOCG) for example, does the cultivar occupy the better higher and less heavy soils over 350 meters.
There are several officially designated DOC Dolcetto appellations, such as the aforementioned three above: Dolcetto d’Ovada, Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi, Dolcetto di Acqui, Dolcetto di Monferrato and Dolcetto d’Asti. One other is in the nearby Liguria Region, DOC Riviera Ligure di Ponente Ormeasco di Pornassio; Ormeasco is the local name for Dolcetto. Of all of these, the only ones we regularly see in the US are the first three (Dogliani, Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba & Dolcetto d’Alba.
Map of the Piemontese Wine DOC’s (G) showing approximate location of Dolcetto DOC(G)’s; Map courtesy of https://vineyards.com
Why is Dolcetto so interesting, delicious, sometimes serious, always fun to drink yet not esteemed by consumers and even, some producers?
Let’s start with the producers’ POV. Dolcetto is a finicky variety, susceptible more than some other varieties to early season mildews and definitely does not respond well to harvest time weather change. As D’Agata notes, there are several clones and different biotypes, some are very prolific, others the opposite, so predicting harvest yields is an inexact science. It suffers from poor ‘set’ conditions.
Ideally, Dolcetto needs to reach full maturity before the fickle fall weather gets too cold and ripening is blocked. Moreover, in today’s vineyards, the vine is low-growing, so not enjoyable to harvest. In the winery, which is where I find the biggest problem with Dolcetto, the grape is notoriously reductive, not unlike Sangiovese and Syrah, but often to my taste more offensive. In striving to retain its delightful fruitiness, and not extract bitter tannins, Dolcetto is usually fermented fairly cool (23-26° C.) and generally not exposed to lots of extraction via pumpovers or punchdowns. A delicate variety and sometimes tricky to make, therefore, but worth it to most producers as it can be released much earlier as a ‘cash-flow’ wine than Nebbiolo and even Barbera, which benefit more from extended aging, often in cask, and also regulated by law.
Tasting young Dolcetto that has not been racked enough with oxygen in the early Spring is not enjoyable! Hence, in many visits over the years to the VinItaly Fair in April, or at wineries during the same period, unless producers have been conscientious about aerating their young Dolcetti sufficiently, the wines invariably smell tanky, even rubbery, and show none of their wonderful fruitiness. It is no wonder that if you are unawares of this tendency in Dolcetto, and your reference point for the grape is from tasting recently bottled wines, you can be forgiven for not liking the wine, or not understanding its charms or even why it was given its name!
Therefore, I prefer to taste new Dolcetti entering the market from the current year no earlier than June-July after harvest, and better yet, not for a year after harvest. The reductivity of Dolcetto is typical of many wines aged solely in stainless steel (inox) tanks, and not given any oak-aging. Yet even some of the best Dogliani and other quality Dolcetto producers who do age their Dolcetto in large oak casks (botti) must take pains to not bottle their wines too early without sufficient oxygenation prior.
Positively, Dolcetto grapes really do taste sweet on the vine; perhaps less than Barbera, but one easily understands why the grape got its name! It is a deep colored variety, and while relatively low in acidity, its moderately firm tannicity gives it structure which contrasts with its sweet fruitiness yielding a wine that shows fine dark bitter cherry, anise and what I consider a faint earthy, savory, or dark flower (violet) bouquet and flavor echo.
Dolcetto’s tannins are (IMHO) appealingly rustic, and with the best producers (see below at end of article), serve to give the sweet round fruit flavors some tension; it is this tension that makes Dolcetto so delicious and vibrant when served with the local hard cheeses, thin grissini and salumi or prosciutto so common to the antipasto dishes in many restaurants and at producers in Piemonte.
Dolcetto’s best friends; a plate of affettati, house cured ham, sausage, salumi served while tasting at one of Barolo’s many fine wineries. (JBMW)
At the same time many producers today see the value of using newer rotary fermenters (think of these as a rotating cement mixer for wine), where the seeds drop down into a channel at the bottom, alleviating the extraction of harsh seed tannins) to gently extract lots of color and softer tannins in a short time as ideal for making the earlier-to-drink wines. Those who make the best Dolcetti have learned how to extract the finer tannins AND avoid reductiveness in their wines.
Who makes fine Dolcetto?
The Sandrone Winery’s lineup, typical of many producers in Barolo and Barbaresco, begins with Dolcetto [L], the popular and delicious ‘intro’ wine that welcomes you before engaging with the more ‘serious’ wines. (JBMW)
Almost all producers in the famed Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG’s offer Dolcetto d’Alba DOC as their entry wine. While many may ‘kvetch’ about problems making it and the low prices in the market place, Dolcetto occupies a traditional niche in Piemontese culture and cuisine. The best solution, many producers have found, is to increase the quality of their wine through lower yields, fine tuning the ferments, possibly oak-aging the wines for several months, and working only with the best sites. Cheap, commercial-tasting Dolcetto is no longer a viable option. Certainly, it is not the image a top Barolo producer like Altare, Vajra, Sandrone or Oddero would like to propagate, all of whom make excellent examples.
The changing market situation for Dolcetto a couple of decades ago pushed producers in the villages of Dogliani and Diano d’Alba to make the case to the government that their zones should be given the highest DOCG level status. They did this by focusing on lower permitted yields, minimum aging standards and the recognition that their higher elevations (up to 600 m.) and focus on Dolcetto put the variety front and center uniquely, as Nebbiolo and Barbera were less successful growing in their zones of production. Incidentally, if you see a wine labeled Sori _____, it means the wine is grown on a south-sloping hill.
The results from fine producers like Maria Abbona, Francesco Boschis, Pecchenino, Luigi Einaudi and others seem to justify the efforts taken to seriously differentiate these zones while justifying their higher costs with distinctive, high quality wines. The wines are indeed, often deeper in character, and with more graceful, fresh flavors.
There are also a few producers, Marcarini importantly, who have access to very old vines, some pre-phylloxera, which make them unique in Piemonte, worthy of separate bottling. Marcarini’s Boschi di Berri vineyard in La Morra, for example, with vines over 100 years old, grown in sandier soils (phylloxera does not like sand) and aged in large oak botti, is often among the most profound and expressive wines in Piemonte. Likewise, other producers such as G.D. Vajra have taken the approach of highlighting particularly fine Dolcetto vineyards by bottling them as single ‘cru’ wines. Their Dolcetto d’Alba Coste e Fossati from vines around 50 years old is one of the best in this genre.
Today’s Dolcetti from fine producers generally sell in the $18-40 price range. They represent good value, distinctive flavors and character with moderate age-ability; 4-6 years from Vintage. Savory and fruity all at once, Dolcetto is versatile at the table.
Check out any of these fine producers whose wines are consistently high quality, and know that most good producers of Barolo and Barbaresco make solid Dolcetto as well as those below.
DOLCETTO D’ALBA Doc
Altare, Domenico Clerico, Paolo Conterno, Enrico Scavino, GD Vajra, Sandrone, Marcarini, Renato Corino, Mauro Veglio, Lorenzo Scavino, Cavallotto, A. Rocca, R Cigliuti, Nada Fiorenza, Prunotto, G. Mascarello
DOGLIANI Docg
Luigi Einaudi, Francesco Boschis, Anna Maria Abbona, Pecchenino, San Fereola
DOLCETTO DIANO D’ALBA
Claudio Alario, Giovanni Veglio