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DOLCETTO
In addition to supplying a highly pleasurable wine, Dolcetto has a very important function in the overall viticultural economy of Piedmont, the principal region where the variety is cultivated and vinified. Bordering on the French Alps to the west and northwest, on Switzerland to the north, Piedmont's climate is - particularly in the context of a Mediterranean country like Italy - a fairly cool one. The region's two most famous red grapes - Nebbiolo and Barbera - are both late maturing and require an extended hang time on the vine to achieve the proper ripeness: the former to lose its tannic aggressiveness, the latter its often tart acidity. This has always been the case, and is often more true now in a period in which both viticultural theory and viticultural practice attempt to push ripeness to maximum levels in order achieve rounder, smoother, sweeter, and fuller wines.
Dolcetto, instead, presents few if any problems in terms of ripening: in a reasonably warm year the grapes are ready to be picked by the third week of September and the harvest is normally finished by the end of the month, before the colder and damper weather of October sets in. Only the most unfortunate vintages of all are negative for Dolcetto, and in these years Nebbiolo and Barbera fare even worse. Given the relative ease with which the grape can be ripened, the grape has found a permanent home in Piedmont in the cooler, less intensely sunny sites: eastern or western exposures or high altitude vineyards. Places, in short, where Nebbiolo or Barbera would give overly hard or overly sharp wines. The variety has a particular affinity for what are called "white soils" in Piedmont, normally compressed sands with a substantial component of limestone, which bring out all of the grape's sweet fruitiness. Dolcetto, in fact, means "the little sweet one" in Italian, and these are the grapes which the region's inhabitants use to make cognà, a kind of spicy marmalade used both for fruit tarts and desserts and to accompany boiled meats.
The finest Dolcetto comes almost entirely from the province of Cuneo: both the hills to the north and south of the truffle capital of Alba where Barbaresco and Barolo are produced and higher towns and villages such as Montelupo, Rodello, Diano d'Alba, and Dogliani; the latter two, in fact, have appellations of their own, Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba and Dolcetto di Dogliani. Another interesting area for Dolcetto is found to the south of Alessandria, on the road to Genoa, where Dolcetto d'Ovada is produced. The grape also makes a fleeting appearance on the coast of Liguria where, under the name of Ormeasco, it makes a wine with all of the recognizable characteristics of the variety.
Dolcetto has changed notably over the past decade, and not only in terms of a general rise in quality and a much larger number of good bottles. Once thought of as a simple gulping wine, best drunk in its youth and an ideal accompaniment to the copious appetizers which open a typical Piedmontese meal, Dolcetto is now being taken much more seriously. The wine, in fact, is rich in extract, and well made bottles from superior vintages - as evidenced by those made in 1989 and 1990, still drinking extremely well - can age without the slightest problem. Dark in color, fragrant and plumy on the nose with attractive almond notes, Dolcetto is ample and round on the palate, long and smooth on the finish. Better cellar work has eliminated the problem which once plagued a certain number of bottles: Dolcetto needs to be carefully watched and tasted and, above all, racked at the proper moments to avoid reduction and off-odors. Interesting experiments with wood aging have also begun, and it seems safe to say that Dolcetto is heading for a new golden age in which all of the intrinsic potential of the grape and its wines will be fully realized. |
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