A follow up to my “Do You Consider Barbera A Serious Grape?” thread: Barolo's Dolcetto Dependency | Wine-Searcher News & Features
I feel with the prices nebbiolo fetches, barbera and dolcetto are dead grapes walking.
Historically, there were plots suitable for Nebbiolo, and plots that weren’t suitable, but worked well enough for Dolcetto/Barbera (and later on chardonnay). I suspect for many producers this won’t change.
For some, especially those happy to pay for the appellation, but not the terroir, being able to bottle a Barolo, irrespective of the suitability of the site for nebbiolo, will make business sense. There is a market for cheap versions of grand appellations. The wine invariably nothing like the name would suggest.
We play our part in any problems of Barbera and Dolcetto getting grubbed up to plant Nebbiolo in ill-suited sites. Our singular focus on Barolo and Barbaresco is such a blinkered vision of what the Langhe, Piemonte and Italy has to offer. If wine enthusiasts meet up for a Piemonte offline, how often is there a broad spread of grape varieties on offer? All too often there is a single grape variety. With this blinkered view, the reputation of the region becomes focused on just Barolo or Barbaresco, and as he market seeks just these wines, demand for them exceeds supply. We know what happens next.
I have tried many a dolcetto, barbera and pelavergera (every one!). They are nice, but to my tastes Barolo and barbareso are much, much better. I’m not blinkered, I just know what I like. I’m not going to drink dolcetto just to ‘honor the piedmonte’ tradition.
My thoughts exactly, Charles - may be a self-centered view on my part, but I’m just looking to drink good wine. If there was Barbera out there that scratched the same itch that Nebbiolo does, I would certainly buy and drink it, but I have yet to have one that did.
Why would Barbera “scratch the same itch”?
It’s a different grape. So is Dolcetto.
Both grapes have their place at the table. Comparing them to Nebbiolo is about as useful as determining the fate of Zinfandel based on Cabernet sales.
Bob can answer for himself, but for me the itch is the excitement or satisfaction factor, not just comparing those grapes to what Nebbiolo tastes like, or provides in terms of complexity, structure or food pairing. I have had a few Barbera’s and Dolcetto’s that I’ve enjoyed, and occasionally buy, but I generally would rather drink other wines, that provide more interest and excitement, and not just from Piedmont.
David, they may have a place at your table, but they don’t at mine.
Under the assumption that my liver is not a sponge and has some limitations in terms of volume with respect to consumption, certain classes/grapes don’t make the cut. And among those grapes are Barbera and Dolcetto.
Probably says some things about the food on your table as well. Dolcetto and Barbera work with foods I eat. While I love Nebbiolo it works less often.
Yeah this is the one Nebbiolo drawback. I love it, but there’s a pretty specific range of foods that it pairs with though not as bad as Amarone for example. I get excited for fall & winter start standing up bottles I’ve been keen to open, work on my sugo recipes, etc.
Well, Barbera and Dolcetto wines are easy daily drinkers and much less pricey than Barolos.
No argument, but at my age, my need to buy red wine “daily drinkers” is diminished. I used to buy and enjoy Dolcetto from Roagna and Altare, but for what we eat at home or at BYOBs, if I want to keep things “simple”, I can bring a Felsina CC or CCR or a Produttori Normale.
So is Langhe Nebbiolo, but I’d usually rather drink it than Barbera or Dolcetto. In the same price range ($15-$25, generally), I’d also rather drink Chianti Classico. It all gets down to the earlier post stating that “they all have a place at the table”. They only have a place at the table if they fit, for you, a specific mood (and cuisine) better than other options. There is never a time when I would say “I’m really in the mood for Barbera”. I just don’t like it enough if there are other options (Chianti, Langhe Nebbiolo, Rosso di Montalcino, etc.). I would probably even opt for a Valpolicella (which I actually might find a specific “mood” or “craving” to have) over a Barbera if I were in the mood for something a bit “thicker” than these other options…
That’s not to say that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a Barbera or Dolcetto, if offered in a setting without other great alternatives. Similarly, on a restaurant wine list there are often times where these are the ONLY affordable options outside of something I would NOT enjoy drinking (like a Shiraz or a mediocre California Cab)…So I will drink them and can enjoy them. But they are not in my normal rotation, except to the extent that I will occasionally want to taste them as part of keeping an educated palate and open mind, as tastes do change, and winemaking does change, over time…
Just to clarify…
Absolutely drink what you enjoy, and don’t feel at all compelled to drink what you don’t enjoy.
FWIW I really haven’t found a Dolcetto that I’ve genuinely enjoyed. Some that were ok, fine in the setting, but none that I’d think I really need to buy again. No problem with having a glass with food / at an Enoteca in Piemonte. I’m conscious that I’ve not had one from Dogliani yet, so in the back of my mind I think I should try one of those when I get the chance.
Barbera was initially of little interest, then I took to the big (with oak influence) style of Braida and the like, and on occasions I’ll still enjoy these. However there are a few producers who make lighter / subtler / less oak Barbera wines that can be a joy (best recent discovery was Boasso (Gabutti) which at 5-6 years old is a joy to my palate, and at a price that really is too cheap. Yes there would be times where I would prefer to drink this than a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco.
So it can pay to keep an open mind.
Then there are the other Piemontese grape varieties, which have been more immediately enjoyable - Vespolina, Freisa, Timorasso, Erbaluce have all impressed from the off, as indeed have the simple charms of Brachetto & Moscato. Chuck in the Valle D’Aostan Fumin and you’ve got grapes/wines that I’d always want to have a presence in my cellar, and I still want to leave room for new discoveries. If that means a few less prestige Nebbiolo based wines, then that’s perfectly ok.
Regards
Ian
Where’s the love for Grignolino? About as good as it gets when you can get it QPR wise.
One in the cellar as an exploratory bottle. I could/should have also mentioned Ruché and Pelaverga (and Cortese and Arneis). No Ruché wine in the cellar at the mo, but I do have a rather tasty Ruché grappa.
I found this lovely view of dolcetto on Neal Rosenthal’s website, where he discusses Nicoletta Bocca, the owner and winemaker at his new Dolcetto di Dogliani producer, San Fereolos:
Nicoletta is the daughter of a well-regarded and controversial Italian political writer, and the anti-elitist political undercurrents of her winemaking philosophy are undeniable. Whereas she could easily triple her production of Nebbiolo and become an overnight sensation (as anyone who has tasted her “Il Provinciale”—a Nebbiolo that bests much Barolo in its elegance and unfettered expression—can attest), she is steadfastly committed to the underdog Dolcetto, and even speaks dismissively and regretfully about Nebbiolo’s aristocratic perfection.
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The 2008 San Fereolo Dolcetto made an appearance at an Italian themed dinner I attended recently and was wotn for some of the most experienced tasters in the group. It was a very different version of dolcetto from the more common expressions that one finds and worthy of the attention being called to it.
She ages one of her bottlings for four years in oak casks, so definitely not typical! I guess that’s what you had. Also, she ferments in large wood casks without temperature control, so the wines tend to have some VA, Rosenthal says. If the temp goes too high, they drain off some and put it in steel.
I’ve bought a '16 that’s produced more conventionally, which we’ll have in our tasting this year.
I think I had that same 08… it was the first Dolcetto I had ever had. Haven’t found much other dolcetto that I’ve enjoyed, not that I’ve looked particularly hard. Flavio Roddolo’s dolcetto superiore is another I’ve liked.