Published by Jeremy.
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As far as Italian red wines are concerned, Dolcetto is typically not the first bottle we reach for. Most entry-level bottles of this grape are made to be easy drinking, fruity wines which, while tasty, have not been for us.
It wasn't until we traveled to some excellent wineries in Piedmont, particularly in the Dogliani region known for world-class Dolcetto, that we became converts.
This is where we stumbled upon Pecchenino and their stellar lineup of ageable Dogliani. We brought several bottles home with us, and their Bricco Botti Dogliani Superiore 2019 was the first bottle we opened.
This is the kind of bottle we're glad to have bought extras of to age!
A Stellar Dolcetto from Dogliani
This Dogliani was medium ruby in color with medium(+) aromas of black cherry, cola, blueberry, vanilla, cassis, clove, sandalwood, cedar, leather, black raspberry, forest floor, and had a slight dustiness to it.
On the palate, it was dry with medium(+) acidity and body, high alcohol, medium chalky tannin and flavor intensity, and a long finish. We detected notes of dried red cherry, black cherry, dried cranberry, cassis, tomato leaf, thyme, forest floor, cedar, clove, black pepper, and black tea to name a few.
To say there was a lot going on in this wine would be an understatement, and we really loved the flavor development that included fresh fruit and dried fruit as well as tertiary development starting. The only downside here was that the high alcohol burned a bit too much, almost to the point where we could say it was slightly out of balance there, but the overall flavor intensity and other characteristics of the wine more than made up for it.
Dogliani Food Pairing – Polenta with Mushrooms and Truffle Oil
We went for a full Piedmont pairing with this Dogliani and paired it with polenta topped with mushrooms and truffle oil- a classic pairing if there ever was one.
The rich and earthy mushrooms and truffle helped highlight more of the cola, dark fruit, and herbs in the wine and helped mellow out some of the tannins as well. Surprisingly, our side of Brussel sprouts was also an interesting pairing as the bitterness of the greens helped highlight more fresh red fruit notes that we otherwise didn't see.
It is never a bad thing to fallback on a classic pairing, and this Dogliani most certainly proved that!
Score:Â 4.5 / 5
We'd buy several bottles of this one, particularly to age. However, we also would buy a single bottle to enjoy now.
Overall, there is a reason why Pecchenino is often considered one of the best producers of Dolcetto in Dogliani. Their wines are just beautiful. We are now anxious to try some of the other vineyard plots we bought from in the future; however, much like additional bottles of Bricco Botti, they may be getting a bit of rest before we do.
Pecchenino is located at Borgata Valdiberti, 59, 12063 in Dogliani, Italy. We purchased this bottle direct from the winery and enjoyed it in 2023. At the time of publishing, this bottle was also available on Wine.com.
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