Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
been reserved for it. Diano d'Alba is another
town that takes Dolcetto very seriously and in
1974 had a very detailed and extensive zonation
study performed in which geological and other
important differences were analyzed within the
DOC boundaries. This commendable effort
was one of the fi rst times a viticultural area in
Italy actually mapped out its own
terroirs
and
performed geological studies. In style, Dolcetto
di Diano d'Alba falls somewhere between the
richer Dolcetto wines of Alba and Dogliani and
the lighter Monferrato and Langhe Monregalesi
wines, but this depends on the producer. His-
torically, some believed that the best Dolcetto
wines were those of Acqui, but today these
wines are not very well known or easy to fi nd,
as they're made only in small quantities by
mainly local producers. The Dolcetto of the
Langhe Monregalesi is usually austere and
lighter in tannin content and perfume: it's a
classic example of a “mountain” wine, made at
higher altitudes and cooler climates. Liguria's
Dolcetto wines tend to be more herbal and
saline than the fruitier ones of Piedmont. DOC
Riviera Ligure di Ponente Ormeasco di Pornas-
sio are the best Ligurian examples of Dolcetto
wines; Pornassio is the recognized
grand cru
for
the variety in Liguria. In Liguria they often
make a Ormeasco sciac-trà
rosato,
an unfortu-
nate name given that it closely resembles that of
schiacchetrà, which is the name of a famous
Ligurian sweet wine.
At times, I fi nd that Dolcetto wines bear lit-
tle resemblance to what I know a Dolcetto wine
should taste of, leaving me to wonder if a small
amount of Merlot hasn't somehow found its
way in. Given that Dolcetto wines are a joy to
drink in all their fresh, fruity exuberance, to
make a wine with Dolcetto that tastes of Merlot
(with chocolate and coffee notes and soft
creamy textures that are completely atypical of
Dolcetto wines) seems to defeat a Dolcetto's
purpose in life. Unfortunately, such wines are
often scored highly in guides and reports writ-
ten by people who apparently don't pay much
attention to, or don't care about, how that wine
should really taste. The point is that if produc-
ers turn dolcetto into another merlot, cabernet,
or syrah look-alike, they might enjoy short-term
success, but will inevitably lose customers in
the long run, as cabernet or merlot wines are
made all over the world, while dolcetto is a
unique, fresh, medium-bodied red wine. It
would seem more logical to try and improve on
their wine, stressing and promoting its quali-
ties and uniqueness. Recently, the DOCG
Dogliani was created to allow producers to
make bigger-bodied dolcettos, no doubt in the
hopes of capitalizing on the fashion for bigger,
full-bodied wines. However, what must have
seemed like a good idea at the time, has not
quite worked out in terms of sales. So let's give
wine-loving consumers their due: the charms
of well-made Dolcetto wines reside in bright
personalities, very grapey aromas and fl avors,
and brightly acid, mouthcleansing fi nishes. To
oak and camoufl age all that, or to increase the
concentration and alcohol of the wines, would
seem to be at the very least counterintuitive,
though some very successful bigger-boned Dol-
cetto wines are certainly made.
Dolcetto is diffi cult not just viticulturally,
but also enologically. A highly reductive variety
(like Sangiovese), it easily acquires off odors, so
winemakers need to use frequent pumpings
over or rack-and-return techniques to air the
wine out. Its low acidity and high tannins also
require winemakers to use softer extraction
methods and shorter fermentation times;
cooler temperatures are also indicated to avoid
extracting drying tannins and to preserve the
variety's fresh, vibrant aromas.
Non-Italian examples of dolcetto are legion;
to the best of my knowledge, there are no wines
made from Nibiò outside Italy. I distinctly
remember trying my fi rst-ever non-Italian Dol-
cetto wine back in the 1990s: I was extremely
impressed by just how good the wine, made by
Monte Volpe in Mendocino, was—successfully
fusing the Italian perfumed, earthy minerality
with an American fruity charm all its own. In
the United States, famous estates are giving
Dolcetto a try: Ponzi in Oregon, Duxoup and
Palmina in California, and even Texan wineries
