Today, the first day of summer I reopened a bottle of Oddero Dolcetto d'Alba 2009 from last night which i had with a panino con prosciutto. Fresh ciabatta bread, a couple slices of Prosciutto di Parma, extra virgin olive oil and a bit of lettuce maybe. This simple combination wins me over every single time!
Dolcetto has been compared to Beaujolais by wine writers and although I prefer Dolcetto, I would agree that they both have that fresh versatility that can pair easily with a range of different foods. This 2009 Dolcetto by Oddero goes through fermentation and maceration for about 12 days in stainless steel containers. It's then aged in stainless steel, bottled the next spring and released by the summer. What you get is an easy drinking, versatile, fresh wine showing a true character of the Dolcetto grape. Don't let the name ''Dolcetto'' lead you down the wrong path (dolce = sweet in italian). The word comes from the Langhe in Piedmont and refers to the grape rather than the wine. It has long been a grape eaten at the table in the Langhe during the autumn along with seasonal pears and boiled chestnuts.
I have tasted many Oddero wines, and they produce some of my favorite Barolo's (mainly the Brunate) and a very interesting Langhe Nebbiolo but this was my first time tasting their Dolcetto.
The wine had a nice ruby-red colour, purple tints and that Dolcetto fruit-filled nose. A zingy black cherry fruit that was perfectly balanced by earthy notes, a nice acidity and appealing tannin. I thought it was showing best the next day when the wine opened up a bit and all the components came through. At around $16 a bottle this is a fun everyday wine to work with.
Damn, just reading about that wine makes me hungry...
ReplyDelete