Il Palazzotto Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba Sori Santa Lucia 2020
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Soft, fruit-driven Dolcetto. It provides real refreshment, and in this case the combination of the highlands of Diano d'Alba and old vines brings us both the pleasure and the seriousness. Drinking this wine will make you yearn to be in Piedmont at a rustic wood table, eating handmade pasta and carne arrosti. Thankfully, you can re-create the experience in your own kitchen, since the wine is the hardest part to find.
Paolo Olivero is a small farmer in the little hilltop village of Diano d’Alba, just north of Barolo. He farms 5 hectares of vines and 6 hectares of hazelnut trees. His specialty in wine is producing Dolcetto, but he does produce small quantities of Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Roero Arneis. The Olivero family has produced wine on their property for four generations, but it wasn’t until after Paolo finished oenology school and worked for another domaine in Diano d’Alba that he returned home to lead the family domaine and bottle their wines. The Dolcetto grape in particular is associated with Diano d’Alba and since 2005 has DOCG status. Paolo’s Sorì Cristina vineyard produces a soft Dolcetto, with good structure and an elegant balance. The Sorì Santa Lucia vineyard produces a more structured Dolcetto than the Cristina and can be cellared for three to five years. The word “sorì” in the local dialect refers to a hilltop area with good sun exposure that produces great wine. “Sorì” is a word that is therefore added to historical names of vineyards to identify a superior terroir. Paolo’s Dolcetto is delicious, straightforward, and an honest ambassador of this workhouse grape that the Piemontese drink daily with their robust cuisine. The Sorì Cristina Dolcetto gets the award for the easiest drinking Dolcetto in our portfolio.
Attracting the most glory, prestige and fame to the Piedmont region, Nebbiolo in all of its expressions—Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero, Ghemme and Gattinara—creates a complex wine, truly unique for its delicate qualities combined with strength and a great potential to improve over time.
But Nebbiolo isn’t all there is to red wine from Piedmont! Barbera is the most planted variety and historically most popular as a dependable, food-friendly, everyday wine.
Beyond these two, a surprising number of red varieties call Piedmont their home. Worth a try include Dolcetto for its bold concentration and aromas of spice cake. Other grapes to investigate include Freisa, Croatina, Brachetto, Grignolino and Pelaverga.