Beautiful Single Vineyard Dolcetto

How to understand the label info

Last night I enjoyed a bottle of Dolcetto d’Alba from Conterno Fantino - 2023 vintage. The second I popped the cork I knew I was going to like this wine - why?

Well, for a start it smelled great. The aroma jumped from eh bottle before I even poured it, and it was a dense smell that did not have the tell of being fermented quickly (a bit of banana due to cool ferment temps), or the annoying smell of fake wood that a lot of lower-priced wines can carry. Rather, this was a pure fruit aroma that was layered and flowed from the glass.

Now, it’s not a big wine or even a very intense wine. But the nose and the structure to follow on the palate aligned well, and it was simply pleasurable to drink. Soft tannins are balanced by a smooth but mouthwatering acidity. The finish was easy and medium-plus in length. This is what careful wine-making is all about.

So how does one read the label and understand that this is something a bit more than an average Dolcetto? Or even understand what Dolcetto from Monforte is? In the WSET/MW world we look to understand a wine by breaking it down to the WHY (does it taste like it does) through the WHAT, WHERE, HOW, WHEN, and WHO questions.

Kind of weird order but at the end of the day I want to understand why something tastes the way it does, so I need to know or discover what is made from, where it is grown/made, how it was made this way, when it was made and how long it took, and then lastly who made it. Producer is often the last piece as we are often tasting blind, but also we want to leave the influences of a producer’s reputation or name or price out until we have discovered what we can from the wine in the glass. So let’s take a closer look at this wine…

What is it made from?
Dolcetto is the simple answer. We know this because it is clearly stated on the label, Captain Obvious. But like many Italian labels, it tells more than just a grape used to make the wine, here. It is Dolcetto d’Alba or Dolcetto from Alba. A specific and special region in northwest Italy, really at the heart of the Piedmont wine region. The label also tells us that it is from Bricco Bastia, which happens to be a single vineyard in the Monforte section of the Alba region. Why is this important? well, because the soil and elevation in Monforte are a little different than the surrounding area and as such it has a certain reputation - and it’s a very good reputation. The area has soils with a bit more limestone mixed into the clay, and this helps to drive great acidity in the wine, as well as a broader or more pure fruit expression in the wines. Think of the best vineyards in Burgundy, for instance - clay and limestone = pure fruit expression of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Bricco Bastia is a vineyard in this area that was planted in the late 1980s and is farmed organically. It is a little higher in elevation (actually too high to grow Nebbiolo for Barolo, for instance), but this allows for a bit more cooler temps and a little more ability to dry the vines when conditions are wet. All good points and this takes care of the what and where questions.

When?
I consider when to mean two different things. First, it is the vintage or year the grapes were grown and harvested, and then secondly the time it took to make the wine. This covers the maceration process as well as the aging of the wine before release.

In this case, the wine is from the 2023 vintage, so basically brand new as a wine that is just over 1 year past vintage. 2023 in Piedmont - like almost every vintage these days, had its challenges for growers. Late spring and summer moisture from rains followed by some intense heat pushed the harvested back a bit into the fall, which always creates problems for growers and tests their stamina and backbones. But, this wine shines. Conterno Fantino is a producer that brings together two power-house family trees under one roof. Not going to dive into the background here as it is well documented on the web, but suffice it to say that there is a long history of historically relevant and top-quality wine production from this winery. The who here matters, and the result is a harvest picked when grapes are at their optimal. The result is a wine with generous, pure fruit, and a balanced structure that is fantastic to drink.

How?
The second part of when is the winemaking time frame that goes into this wine. This overlaps with the how, of course, but I think it is important to understand the influence of time as it relates to the winemaking process. No wood is involved here, and the wine is vinified in stainless then rested for a period of time in tank before blending and bottling. The vineyard is not big, and only about 1300 cases of this wine are produced annually, so there is a lot of hands-on attention to the winemaking. It shows. Quality grapes from a well-understood site, made in a low-intervention manner: this is what to look for. We are only about 1 year out from the completion of the winemaking process, which means that a bottle popped now will show all of the youth that Dolcetto can be known for.

Here is the best part, perhaps. All of this is for a bottle that retails for about $20. That is a price point most people consider to be a bargain, these days. I love this wine not only for its generous style and drinkability, but it is also a wine that will work with many food and cuisine styles. Some people are saying we are past the era of food and wine pairing because folks just eat and drink what they like without any real regard for understanding how it works. I say take a minute and understand a few basics, and your eating and drinking combos will actually be the better for it.

BUT, if you just want a good bottle that covers all the bases, then this $20 bottle of Dolcetto has the acid to pair with mid-weight dishes (ranging from seafood to pastas), the tannins to go with meats, the earthiness to go with savory dishes, and the fruit to just pound down while listening to some vinyl on a Friday night while eating some dark chocolate covered popcorn instead of a proper dinner.
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And that is why it tastes so good.

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