Overlooked Treasures: Dolcetto, Italy

		Dolcetto: Noteworthy Examples
		Overlooked Treasures
		Price comparisons to California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay
		Beaujolais, France
		Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile
		Kabinett, Germany
		Muscadet, France
		Sauvignon Blanc, California

Wine producers in Piedmont have a small secret that most wine lovers either have forgotten or don't know. Even though the reputation of their region in northern Italy is made with the great wines of Nebbiolo, primarily Barolos and Barbarescos, it's Dolcetto that everyone in the region drinks on a regular basis.

Unique to Piedmont, Dolcetto generally makes juicy, quaffable, early-drinking wines that go with anything from a simple risotto to roasted game. The wines are usually much lower in alcohol than Port-like Barolos and Barbarescos. In addition, they have a light tannin structure and fresh acidity, so they are excellent all-around reds, like Zinfandel from California or Gamay from France.

The most impressive character of a top Dolcetto is its abundance of fruit on the nose and palate. It has pronounced aromas of crushed blackberries, raspberries and wet earth, and its flavors are just as fruity, with a fresh acidity that cleanses the palate.

Traditionally, Dolcetto is planted in locations with inferior soils and exposures to the sun, because the best sites are kept for Nebbiolo and, to a lesser extent, Barbera. Dolcetto ripens up to two weeks before Barbera and sometimes up to a month before Nebbiolo; so cooler, lower-quality vineyard sites are not a problem. For the most part, the wines are made for early drinking, eliminating the need for extended maceration (to extract flavor and tannins) and barrel aging. Yet, a number of producers are now making age-worthy Dolcettos by applying winemaking methods normally reserved for Nebbiolo and international varietals such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Historically, there are seven different appellations, or DOCs (Denominaziones di Origine Controllata), for Dolcetto, with the best among them tending to be Dolcetto d'Alba and Dolcetto di Dogliani. The latter region is often said to be the very best for Dolcetto because many of the finest sites in this subregion are planted to the variety. Dolcetto di Dogliani can be as rich and racy as some serious Nebbiolos and Barberas. For instance, Fratelli Pecchenino crafts extremely powerful and well-structured Dolcettos carrying the Dolcetto di Dogliani DOC. Most of the estate's top wines are aged in small French oak barrels and treated in the same way that other Piedmontese producers treat top-class Nebbiolos.

I recently drank a bottle of Pecchenino Dolcetto di Dogliani Bricco Botti 1997 (91, $32; reviewed in Wine Spectator's Dec. 31, 2000, issue) and it was still extremely fresh, with a fine tannin structure and lots of ripe fruit and smoky, floral character.

Dolcetto should viewed in the same way as Barolo or Barbaresco, insists Orlando Pecchenino, who is dedicated to making the greatest Dolcetto possible. His family has been making wine in the region for more than a decade, but only in the last five years has it made great strides toward concentrated, serious wines. My best vineyards are used for Dolcetto, and I keep my grape yields very low, which is why I get excellent concentration. In the past, most winemakers made Dolcetto into an easy, everyday wine, but it deserves better.

The problem is that if winemakers do reduce yields and use new oak and other costly vineyard and winemaking techniques, Dolcetto can be as expensive as any other Piedmont wine, hence Pecchenino's $32 price tag for the Bricco Botti. But on the whole, Dolcetto remains an excellent value. Prices average just over $15 a bottle, although the top ones usually cost between $16 and $20. Not surprisingly, many of the top names in Barolo and Barbaresco are also serious Dolcetto makers. Among the best over the last two years of my tastings are Bruno Porro, Massimo Oddero, Vietti, Giacomo Fenocchio, Bruno Giacosa, Silvio Grasso, Paolo Scavino, Renato Ratti, and Marcarini.