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Reflections of Friendship

I have a young friend who’s extremely adept in craftwork. Pottery is her forte, but almost anything she makes, be it jewelry, sculpture, or cloth work, demonstrates her artisan’s hand and is strikingly unique. Recently she chose to give me a friendship bracelet. You’ve probably seen one before: six strands of variously colored embroidery thread tightly knotted to form an attractive pattern. I am quite touched by this little gift, whose charm lies in its simplicity and whose value in its intimation of the maker’s affection for me.

As I sat down to write about Dolcetto d’Alba, I thought of this bracelet, because many producers of this wine from Italy’s Piedmont district are adept at making some of the most complex and prized wines, such as Barolo and Barbaresco. But when they share a glass of wine with friends, it’s their simple Dolcetto that they are most likely to serve. Perhaps, like my friend, they feel that simple gifts best convey deep emotions.

Although the name "Dolcetto" (a diminutive of the Italian dolce meaning "sweet") might lead you to believe it to be a sweet wine, it is in fact quite dry. The name might be more attributable to the Dolcetto grape’s low acidity. This early ripening grape is widely grown in the Piedmont. Although there are a number of distinct appellations, (Dolcetto d’Acqui, Dolcetto d’Asti, Dolcetto di Diana d’Alba, etc.), Dolcetto d’Alba is perhaps the most popular and widely available. It’s this Dolcetto that’s the focus of our feature.

There seem to be at least two styles of Dolcetto d’Alba. The first might be characterized as ebullient and charming, with a sweet floral nose and rich fruit on the palate tempered by mild tannins and followed with a hint of almonds on the finish. The second is more austere and reserved, with drier flavors, and possibly more spice and a distinctive bitter almond finish. Neither style, however, has the complexity that other wines from this region might have, but both have their charms. They are also generally high in alcohol (approximately 12.5%) but quite easy to drink.

When shopping for Dolcetto, look for youth not age: one or two years after vintage is best. Although exceptions might be made for great vintages, I’d be wary of wines older than three years. Among the best producers are Ceretto, Aldo Conterno, Angelo Gaja, Bruno Giacossa, Prunotto, Giuseppe Ratto, and Vietti.

Because these wines are not very complex and relatively low in acidity, I’d recommend serving them with simple pasta dishes, poultry, and light meats. For our tasting, we chose penne served with a simple tomato sauce enriched with chunks of chevre. These wines would also be great with a cheese board after dinner or maybe simply with a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano on an autumn afternoon. So why not set some cheese out, break open a bottle, and ask a friend over to share a glass or two.

For our tasting, we chose ten wines. We tasted each individually unaccompanied by food and then chose several to sample with our pasta.

1997 Prunotto Dolcetto D’Alba DOC ($15.00)

Red-purple in color, the wine has good legs and a full red berry nose with subtle hints of vanilla. Soft bodied, on the palate the wine is dry and somewhat tannic. Its flavor, more almond than fruit like, is thin. The finish is long and dry. We found that this wine improved considerably with the pasta.

1997 Tenuta Carretta, Dolcetto D’Alba, DOC ($14.00)

Red-violet in color with long, long legs, this wine has a distinctive earthy loamy nose with hints of raisins. After a silky entry, the wine is dry and full bodied and delivers bitter almond and plum flavors. It’s a little short on the finish.

1997 Bruno Giacosa, Dolcetto D’Alba, Falletto, DOC ($17.00)

Deep ruby in color with long legs and a big earthy nose, this wine is packed with flavor. Medium bodied with good lemon-like acidity, it’s packed with bitter almond and subtle anise flavors. Its finish is beautifully long and dry. This wine went extremely well with the pasta and its flavors were never lost. Definitely one of the stars of the tasting.

1998 Giuseppe Cortese, Dolcetto D’Alba, Trifolera, DOC ($13.00)

Deep ruby in color, the wine has good legs and a sweet perfumy nose of berries and violets. Smooth and silky on entry, the wine is soft bodied and teases the palate with prune flavors and white pepper spiciness. It has the classic Dolcetto almond finish. This wine enveloped the pasta and was just delicious. Another star of this tasting.

1998 Ceretto, Dolcetto D’Alba, Rossana, DOC ($20.00)

Purple in color, the wine has good legs and a blueberry nose with hints of spice and honey. On the palate, the wine is dry with mild tannins and delivers almond and spice favors. It also has a nice dry finish. This wine would be wonderful simply with a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a loaf of crusty bread.

1997 Silvio Grasso, Dolcetto D’Alba DOC ($11.99)

Reddish violet in color with good legs, the wine shows blueberries and vanilla on the nose. Its entry is silky, and on the palate the wine is dry and soft bodied. There’s an orange-pith bitterness to its flavor as well as hints of vanilla and almond. It has an adequate finish. This is a straightforward example of Dolcetto d’Alba.

1997 Sori’ Paitin, Dolcetto D’Alba ($12.99)

Dark red-violet in color, the wine has long legs and a big beautiful warm nose of berries and black cherry. Its entry is silky. On the palate, it’s dry and full-bodied with a good mid palate. Along with some mild tannins, there’s plenty of sweet berry and pepper flavors that linger on the tongue. The wine has a great almond-like finish. This wine was exceptional with the pasta and had just the right amount of acidity. In short, just a lovely wine and quite a value.

1997, Poderi Aldo Conterno, Dolcetto D’Alba ($18.99)

Deep ruby in color with long, long legs, the wine has a sweet perfumy nose of roses. Smooth on entry, the wine is dry and on the palate creates a beautiful counterpoint between the sweet voluptuousness of the nose and the dry meaty flavors. It also has a great finish. A beautiful wine that went well with the food.

1998 Paolo Scavino, Dolcetto D'Alba, DOC ($16.99)

This is a classic Dolcetto from Italy's Piedmont region. Deep purple in color with beautifully long legs, this wine has a clean blueberry nose that leaps from the glass. Smooth and velvety on the tongue, it's soft bodied, dry, and packed with blueberry and spice flavors. It's well balanced with mild tannins and has just enough acidity to make it perfect with most pasta dishes or roasted meats. It also finishes with just a hint of almonds. This wine's worth seeking out. Was very good with the pasta.

1997 Giacomo Conterno, Dolcetto D’Alba DOC ($18.99)

Red-violet in color, the wine has good legs and a big vinous nose with some vanilla. On the palate, it’s very dry but flat in flavor. After the nose, quite a disappointment. The bitter almond finish is short.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections.

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