Tasted over the last few days:
1. Idlewild Dolcetto FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (12.4%) 2015: Very dark color; beautiful grapey/Dolcetto/licorice/blaclberry/black cherry some earthy/graphite/pungent/bit smokey complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/hard/angular strong Dolcetto/black cherry/licorice/blackberry light smokey/oak rather tannic classic Piemonte Dolcetto flavor w/ ample hard/angular tannins; very long/lingering rather hard/tannic/tart classic Dolcetto grapey/black cherry/black cherry cola quite tart/hard finish w/ ample hard/crunchy tannins; a pretty good take on classic young Piemonte Dolcetto; tannins are pretty fierce and needs age. $28.00
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2. Falletto di Bruno Giacosa DOC: Dolcetto d'Alba Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba (12.5%; #4812 of 7300 btls) 2008: Med.color w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/mushroomy strong Dolcetto/licorice/grapey/mulberry bit smokey/smoked meats slightly tired/aged some complex nose; soft bit tired/oldRed/aged light grapey/Dolcetto/licorice slight pencilly/smokey light earthy/dusty/mushroomy flavor w/ light gritty tannins; med.long some tired/dried out light Dolcetto/grapey/licorice bit soft slight smokey finish w/ light tired/astringent tannins; moderately interesting but rather on the tired/dried-out side and not a lot of fruit. $20.00 (WoodHills)
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3. Bartolo Mascarello DOC: Dolcetto d'Alba Vigne Monrobiolo-Rue (14%) Barolo 2007: Very dark color w/ some bricking; very strong licorice/Dolcetto/grapey/plummy some smokey/pungent/toasty bit earthy/dusty/root cellar bit dried out fairly complex nose; some tart/tangy bit tannic/rough strong Dolcetto/licorice/pungent/grapey bit dried out/tannic bit complex flavor w/ modest rough/drying tannins; long very strong pungent/Dolcetto/grapey/licorice some earthy/mushroomy/truffle/pungent bit drying/tired bit complex finish w/ light drying/astringent tannins; rather more interesting & alive but starting to dry out a bit. $25.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. A like Dolcetto quite a bit. It is often termed the Beaujolais of the Piemonte, but that's a comparison I never get, other than Piemonte Dolcettos are usually drunk young.
I often find that can be on the tannic side, which would suggest they might age well. But I find they seldom pay any rewards for aging them, as these two examples show.
I generally prefer the Dolcettos that come from the Dogliani region. OliverMcCrum's Abbona is one of my faves.
Calif Dolcettos can be a rather mixed bag. The Ildewild is probably my favorite of them all. This '15 had beautiful aromatics, but I found the tannins a bit on the fierce side. After it was opened a few days, the tannins abated a bit...the opposite of what I usually find from leaving a wine open. Given how Dolcetto has a reputation for not aging, it will be interesting to see how Sam's Dolcetto will evolve. I have a few older ones waiting in the wings.
Tom