One of the most famous but least coveted of Piedmont’s red wines, Dolcetto is very much the underdog. And it is also most certainly underestimated. Known for being a softer, fleshier wine than its Piedmont rivals of Nebbiolo and Barbera, Dolcetto is overlooked by most international markets and is often seen as the easier, everyday drinking option, and not worth investing in. Having tasting Dolcetto wines with some avid producers in Piedmont, however, it seems that Dolcetto is a misunderstood grape.
Dolcetto, a misunderstood grape
Earlier-ripening than Nebbiolo and Barbera, Dolcetto is often planted on the cooler sites – at altitude or with less heat-retentive soils – and is seen as a ‘safer bet’ for farmers. The best sites are saved for Nebbiolo, which can claim the highest price in the market, and Dolcetto is planted on the sites where Nebbiolo struggles to ripen.
These cooler sites also help reduce the risk of over-ripening – a common risk with Dolcetto, which can produce highly alcoholic and fruity wines. The cool sites help it retain a bit of acidity (which is naturally quite low in the variety). The fact that Dolcetto is planted on the lesser quality sites is part of the reason it has been given a bit of a bad rap, as it is rarely given the chance to shine on higher and steeper slopes, with the exception of a couple of crus (see below).
Its name ‘little sweet one’, translated from the Italian of Dolcetto, is a bit of a misnomer, because Dolcetto wines are rarely made sweet and the tannins can in fact be astringent for years (despite the otherwise fruity character). Locals, in fact, say that Dolcetto refers to the ‘sweet little hills’ of the area – la colina dolce – and its misnomer may have arisen because it feels sweet in comparison to the very acidic grapes of Nebbiolo and Barbera.
The grape seeds of Dolcetto are also particularly challenging. There are three per berry, which contain a lot of tannins and excessive maceration can lead to bitter wines. As a result, young Dolcetto wines are produced with very short maceration times to reduce tannin extraction. These softer styles are vinified in stainless steel to keep them light and fruity, and often consumed the year after harvest (rare for wines in Piedmont). Selling young Dolcetto also offers an important early income for producers whose tougher Nebbiolos need more time in cask so they soften enough to become palatable.
Big, blockbuster styles of Dolcetto with notably high alcohol, fruit intensity and powerful tannins are another reality in Piedmont. Sometimes Dolcetto is aged in oak, but most producers seeking the optimum Dolcetto expression suggest that heavily oaked barrels cause the fresh fruit aromas to be completely smothered, preferring more neutral oak instead.
Bearing all this in mind, it’s often quite hard to find Dolcetto wines that are truly given the opportunity to shine. Dolcetto is often grown on the lesser locations; made in a simple, fruity style or overdone in a big, blockbuster style. There is, however, a b-side to Dolcetto. And it tends to be a secret highly guarded by the locals.
There are some very high-quality Dolcetto wines from specific crus where producers sensitively choose the harvest date and are careful in the winery with tannin extraction and oak ageing. The result then can be a wine with complexity and intensity that can age very well indeed.
Most tourists are too busy drinking Nebbiolo to notice, but if you check out what the locals are drinking, it’s often Dolcetto. Not only can it be an exceptional wine, but it’s almost always exceptionally good value too.
Dolcetto fiend and winemaker Giuseppe Caviola explains a bit more:
Looking for the best Dolcetto wines & terroirs
Where is Dolcetto grown?
Dolcetto is today grown in New World countries, including Australia and the US, but its spiritual home remains in its birthplace – in Italy’s Piedmont. There are several Dolcetto-based appellations in Piedmont and the grape is also produced in Liguria, just south of Piedmont, where it is known as Ormeasco (most notably producers in Ormeasco di Pornassio).
Dolcetto-based DOCs
Dogliani DOCG
Generally thought to produce some of the bolder styles of Dolcetto, the wines can be intensely perfumed and display aromas of dark fruit, coffee and cacao. Locals claim this is also the birthplace of Dolcetto and legend has it that a Roman god, Janus, visited this small town to drink its wines, drinking it from the typical wine jars of the time. Dogliani DOCG only permits Dolcetto, so even the best sites here are dedicated to Dolcetto (although some have also been planted with Nebbiolo).
Ormeasco di Pornassio
The Ligurian version of Dolcetto, coming from the mountain territories of Liguria, where the resulting wine is brighter in colour, has sweeter tannins and intense aromatics. Altitude has a big impact on the wine quality and style, and ranges from 400m to 800m above sea level. In the higher vineyards, it can be a struggle to ripen grapes (even though Dolcetto is a much earlier-ripening variety than Nebbiolo, for example).
Other Dolcetto DOCs in Piemonte
Acqui, Alba, Asti, Diano d’Alba, Langhe Monregaslesi, Ovada.
What does Dolcetto wine taste like?
- Medium ruby with violet/purple hues
- Intense nose of blackberry, blackcurrant, white pepper, mint, chocolate, coffee.
- Dry, medium (-) acidity, medium (-) tannins that are round and sweet, medium (+) alcohol, medium body. Finish is medium.
Dolcetto wines & producers to try
Ca’Viola
Guiseppe Caviola is a consultant winemaker and Ca’Viola is his own personal project, where he makes some top Dolcetto wines. His portfolio also includes a Langhe Riesling and a selection of Nebbiolo wines (Barolo) and excellent Barbera.
Dolcetto d’Alba Barturot (Cru) 2015 €10.50
This is a lovely wine with more floral notes, dark fruit with a wonderfully smooth and aromatic mid-palate with an elegant finish. A Dolcetto with finesse and all for €10! There are approximately 8,000 bottles each year – I think I’d snap up a couple of hundred if I could.
Chionetti
This small producer in the hills of Dogliani specialises in Dolcetto and Nebbiolo. Founded by Giuseppe Chionetti in 1912, they have been making Dolcetto in Dogliani for five generations and started making Nebbiolo in 2015 following a decision to purchase vineyards in three different crus in Barolo. Today they manage 15 hectares between their properties and work the vineyards largely organically with minimum intervention in the winery.
San Luigi, La Costa and Briccolero all come from their hillside property in the Dogliani where the soils are shallow and light with silt-clay-sand components.
Chionetti San Luigi 2016 (€12)
This Dolcetto is their youngest wine, made with 10 days’ maceration and using just stainless steel. It’s sold just a year after harvest. The nose is filled with forest fruits and spice, in the mouth, it is quite juicy and fresh with round tannins and a bright finish.
Chionetti Briccolero 2016 (€15)
This Dolcetto has a longer maceration period (15 days) and is fermented in concrete and then aged for a year in concrete and 10% aged in neutral oak barrels. The result is a deeper-coloured Dolcetto with more intense fruit notes and dark spice. On the palate, it has much more presence and spice, backed by fruit and some peppery tannins. Also a very easy-drinking style.
Chionetti La Costa 2015 (€20)
This is their top Dolcetto taken from the top of the hill with the longest maceration period – three weeks – and spends two years in oak before bottling. It is darker on the nose, with dark forest fruits, sweet spice and hints of chocolate and coffee. On the palate, the tannins are spicier, slightly mouth-puckering, but there’s good fruit concentration to fill them out.
Chionetti Briccolero 2013
The fruit in this wine has mellowed out with notes of wild forest fruits and conserved blackcurrants and there’s a hint of mint on the nose and appealing exotic spice. The tannins are well integrated and the finish is harmonious with gentle fruit, spice and dried flower notes. This fresher vintage has produced a delicious and nicely balanced wine with plenty of life ahead of it.
Chionetti Briccolero 2008
The colour of this older vintage has softened. However it is still vibrant and youthful with a hint of magenta. On the nose, the wine has more forest undergrowth and floral notes, with dried black fruit aromas. There’s an attractive but subtle perfume and much more fruit emerges on the palate, ending with a smooth and somewhat juicy finish.
Marziano Abbona
Based in Dogliani, this family winery started in 1900 with the first Marziano Abbona and his son Celso, both of whom believed in the potential of Dogliani and Dolcetto. Celso’s sons Marziano (the 2nd) and Enrico took over in the mid-60s and Marziano has really been at the forefront of promoting Dolcetto from Dogliani, as well as incorporating vineyards from Barolo (before it was recognised as a top terroir). His daughter, Mara, is also now in the business. “We really believe in this wine,” she explains. “Dolcetto has been a wine made here for centuries, and we like to keep the fruitiness intense and avoid too much oak.”
San Luigi Dogliani DOC 2017
This is their first Dolcetto made entirely without oak, in order to preserve the fruit aromas. It certainly achieves that, with vibrant berry and forest fruit notes on the nose and a fruit-forward palate with a refreshing, dry finish.
Papa Celso Dogliani DOC 2016, 2015 & 2005
A wine dedicated to Marziano’s father (who also appears rather artistically on the label), this comes from an old vineyard (55+ years) which they call Doriolo. The 2016 has nice tension and shows dark fruit notes with an ashy, long finish; the 2015 has much more perfume and is more open at this stage, with lots of bright fruit on the finish; and the 2005 shows more evolved aromas with notes of forest floor and leather – it’s a delicious example of aged Dolcetto.
Giuseppe Caviola interview on Dolcetto wine
Can you tell us what Dolcetto is like in the vineyard as a grape variety?
Dolcetto is a typical Piemontese variety, it’s not as famous as the Nebbiolo grapes or Barbera grapes, especially abroad but not in Italy or the Piemonte because people know it very well and drink Dolcetto.
The Dolcetto name means ‘sweet’, only because the grapes are very sweet because if you compare Dolcetto to Barbera for example, Dolcetto has less acidity than Barbera (Dolcetto grapes) and so when you taste the grapes, Dolcetto grapes means sweeter than other typical Piemontese varieties.
The most famous Dolcetto in the world, for me, is the Dolcetto Dogliani. Because in this area, Dolcetto comes very well. And Dolcetto, red wine, can age very well. Better than other areas, for example Alba or Asti. Only because in this area, in Dogliani you can find the vineyards of Dolcetto in the best exposure (south or southeast) and because the altitude is more or less over 350 meters above sea level, to 400 meters. It is very good for earlier-ripening varieties, such as Dolcetto, because it ripens slowly and so the wine is richer than others, with very typical fruity hints and very important polyphenol compounds. Important because it can age very well.
Excellent, and so when Dolcetto is planted on the best sites, higher altitude, cooler sites, how long can you age Dolcetto? What is its ageing potential?
Obviously, it depends on the vintage. But sometimes Dolcetto cru can age more than 10 years. We can’t compare Dolcetto to Nebbiolo, Barolo or Barbaresco, because it’s completely another thing. But the most important and great Dolcettos can age 10 to 15 years.
You make a delicious Cru Dolcetto but it is only €11… is it very difficult to sell Dolcetto to the world?
Unfortunately, it is not easy! It’s not difficult, but it’s not easy to sell Dolcetto because people usually don’t know very well the history of Dolcetto because probably they haven’t tasted Dolcetto before. And because when foreign people are here, in the Langhe, they prefer to taste other types – Barolo, Barbaresco, and so it’s not easy to sell Dolcetto in the world.
But it’s worth it!
