Diego & Damiano Barale Dolcetto 2021 – a wine that seems to have a high evaporation rate at my house. Too delicious. $29 each in a dozen.
I’ve had a love affair with Dolcetto for more than two decades. This variety produces medium-bodied, sometimes medium-full red wines that display juicy fruit flavors of black raspberry, cranberry and plum. Sounds delicious, right? Absolutely, so why isn’t Dolcetto more popular? TOM HYLAND, Forbes
Myles,
I re-read my offer for this wine from the 2020 vintage. It was like an emotional teenager writing to his valentine asking why they didn’t love them back… Almost pleading with people to buy the wine. It worked. Sold out in a flash. So, I will try a slightly less desperate approach this year. But equally impassioned.
Look, these two are on a roll. They have the best sites, the best mentors and great talent. The short version is that their father passed, early, and the vineyards fell to their uncle, Sergio, of Fratelli Barale fame to tend until the boys came of age and had the experience behind them to take the reins of their fathers inheritance. I believe 2022 will mark their 10th vintage in charge of the estate.
Michael was put on to these guys buy a legend in the Hills, a man who owns “the place” for trade to drink and chill. Quite the character and has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the goings on in the Langhe. When he suggests you visit someone or try something you do. So here we are, our third release of Barale and we are pretty happy to have them on board.
I mentioned their holdings being superb, even their Dolcetto is on prime land, the Monforte Cru San Giovanni. While it’s built for drinkability and ease of operation there is also no denying the origins and quality inherent in the juice. Pound for pound it has to be in my top ten now. Worth commenting for those who don’t read my Italian offers regularly, I drink mountains of these kinds of wines. Dolcetto, Barbera, Langhe Neb. They all get a right royal hammering around Chateau de la Roscoe. Especially at dinner time.
As I mentioned last time, Dolcetto seems to be the most, strangely, overlooked Italian red in Oz. It offers up most of the stuff people ask me for when it comes to good value drinking. Plenty of flavour. Nice acidity. Lower in tannins. Ample weight. Great dolcetto should be flirtatious and inviting with enough generosity to make it pleasurable to drink on its own but extremely versatile with food.
When you are eating in Barolo you rarely grab a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco, unless it has plenty of age. Everyone reaches for these wines. There is a reason, apart from the obvious price disparity, they are built for the table. Dolcetto reigns supreme when it comes to food wines in the region, well, maybe Barbera too… anyway, you get the point.
Obviously 2021 is being ramped up as the best thing since sliced bread, but honestly I don’t think that’s super relevant here. This isn’t for the cellar, this is for your belly. Grab a doz or two, drink them this autumn and winter. Whatever is left you can demolish over spring and throw down when the BBQ season hits again. No bottle will go to waste. Trust me.
Cheers and drink up.
Roscoe