Dogliani, just south of Monforte in Barolo, is a land where Dolcetto rules the hillsides. There's no sibling rivalry here with Nebbiolo and Barbera. This is where Dolcetto gets all the love. And in Dogliani it's Nicoletta Bocca's 1936-planted Dolcetto vines that offer the most mesmerizing and enchanting reflection of this appellation.

There are very few producers in Barolo that will devote prime hillside parcels to Dolcetto. But, in Dogliani only the best, steep, south-facing vineyards are planted to the variety. Bocca purchased the San Fereolo property in 1992 in the Valdibà subzone and converted to organic and biodymanic viticulture, now certified by Demeter. Bocca's oldest vines of her estate go into the flagship San Fereolo Dogliani bottling. She waits 8 years to release each vintage, with a split between large barrel elévage and then into bottle for extended aging.

There's no denying how important Dolcetto is from Dogliani's northern neighbors. Even there it's more than a simple "daily drinker", with complex blue and black fruits, bitter chocolate, licorice, smoke, and black olive notes. But, San Fereolo's Dogliani from 81-year-old vines is entirely another beast. There's a weight and texture that points to a very different class, with an underlying stream of rocky minerality and agile frame that reminds us we're in another home.

For me, the introduction to Bocca's top wine really turned my preconceived notions of Dolcetto upside down. Even with exposure to the best bottlings from Barolo the Dogliani holds a grace and sense of quiet conviction that is undeniably great. This is where world class Dolcetto takes the leading role of terroir and runs with it.

The two vintages offered today show very different sides of Dogliani.

The cooler 2008, like throughout Barolo and Barbaresco, gave us incredibly aromatic, bright, and lifted wines - a vintage where the rarer elegant and suave side of Dolcetto is front and center. One of the latest harvest dates on record due to the cooler season. Longer than usual hang time let intricate flavors develop slowly.

2009, conversely, was a warm vintage that gave us plush, forward, and very open-knit wines, full of dark, powerful fruit held in check with underlying structure. Whereas Nebbiolo tends to do best in more moderate growing seasons, Dolcetto is always eagerly awaiting those of serious warmth. It's in these vintages that Dolcetto excels the very most.  

2008 San Fereolo Dogliani Dolcetto
$31 per bottle.

2009 San Fereolo Dogliani Dolcetto
$33 per bottle.