Dolcetto makes up for the others

By Michael Apstein, Globe Correspondent  |  July 1, 2004

The 2002 vintage in Italy's Piedmont region was a disaster for its most revered wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, which are made from the nebbiolo grape. Those wines were harmed by heavy rainfall that occurred just before and during harvest. The rain waterlogged the late-ripening nebbiolo and most of the resulting wines, by all reports, are below average.

There will be a tendency to write off the entire vintage because Barolo and Barbaresco are the standard bearers for the region. But that would be a mistake. Grapes that were ripe and harvested before the deluge, such as early-ripening red varieties like dolcetto, were in much better condition. Talented wineries turned them into marvelous wine.

Dolcetto, planted almost exclusively in Piedmont, gets its name, "little sweet one," because the grape has relatively low acidity. The wines are not sweet, but rather darkly colored, dry, and full of flavor. They are meant to be consumed young, within a few years of the vintage, and, as such, are very popular with the locals as they wait for the more age-worthy Barolo and Barbaresco to mature.

The best places to grow dolcetto are around the towns of Alba and Dogliani, and wines made from grapes grown in these locales will indicate it on the label. Experienced winemakers tame the dolcetto's potentially rough tannins and make a plush, intense wine.

Giuseppe (Beppe) Caviola, known by the locals as the "king of dolcetto," has learned to make polished dolcetto in just a short time since he founded his small estate in the early 1990s. In 2002, he included grapes that usually go into his more upscale dolcetto, labeled Barturot, to preserve the quality of this one, dubbed Vilot. His 2002 Dolcetto d'Alba Vilot is marvelously full, rich, and supple, without a trace of astringency. Pop the cork the next time you are having pasta and meat sauce or take-out pizza.

Ca Viola, Dolcetto d'Alba, Vilot, 2002. About $23. (Distributed by MS Walker, 800-238-0607.)