Sandrone Dolcetto D'Alba 2007

Luciano Sandrone is one of the leading barolo producers and is a bit of a legend in Piedmont. His wines regularily get 90+ from Robert Parker although his Barolos are expensive and generally sold out before they even reach the bottling stage. His non-barolo wines such as this Dolcetto are great value and we get a sense of what Luciano stands for. He is very much a traditionalist and has been making wines sine the late 1970s however all his wines combine a modern style also.
Dolcetto meaning "little sweet one". There is still some speculation over whether this relates to the sweetness of the grapes picked from the vines or to the hills where they come from. It definitely has no connection with the wine itself as Dolcetto grapes make a dry red wine with good levels of acidity. The grapes for this wine come from four different vineyards; two in the Barolo region and other two from vineyards in Novello and Monforte D'Alba. The 2007 vintage had an unusually mild winter and an ordinary summer which meant the grapes were ripe about 15-20 days earlier than most years. Sandrone uses no wood and wine is left in tanks for about 10 months.

 From the same region as Italy's famous reds such as Barolo and Barbareso but in a lighter style making it more favourable to some although not as well known or as hyped. This wine is the Piemontese's favourite everyday drinking wine and can even be enjoyed chilled in their hot summers. Dolcetto's are generally a beautiful dark colour due to the high levels of pigments in the grape's skin and the juice requires little time in contact with them to obtain this.
 On the nose there is black cherries with some liquorice, the palate delivers a medium -bodied red with good acidity and a dry finish.Due to the weight of this wine I think pairing it with simpler foods would be an idea. Lighter Italian sauces and pizzas is the recommended. Delicious served chilled as an aperitif , with some finger food or even a favourite of mine; fresh pasta with parmesan, salt and pepper and butter(the real stuff)! Sick of the same old thing give this a shot and if ou are going all out on the adventurous side ... try it chilled!
 Scored  87+ from the Wine Enthusiast and a price of €17.99, good value.
Till next time
Clare

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