2006

Dolcetto d’Alba

Elio Grasso

Alba – Piedmont – Italy

Price: $17.00

Rating: 5, a good buy at this price

This Italian red wine, a Dolcetto from the town of Alba was given to us by our good friend Stephanie.  Wow, what a wine!  It was excellent! 

In a previous article we spoke about preserving wine once opened.  In it we discussed the effects of air on wine.  For purposes of this review all you need know is that wine actually ages over time and exposure to air speeds up that process.  This is a problem when a wine is ready to drink, but is a plus when the wine is “young and immature.”  Allowing a wine to “breath” is the term given to the process of opening a bottle and exposing the surface to air.  One of the best ways to help a wine to breath is to simply pour the wine into a glass, set it aside and allow nature ‘to do its thing.”  Young wines will mature over a short period of time that way. 

Opening this bottle was a true example of why one should allow a wine to “breath” before drinking.  When sipped just after opening, we pushed it aside.  It was far too harsh on the throat and its flavors (and aromas) of plum, blackberry and black raspberry were fighting for supremacy.  All in all, the conflict left a quite dissatisfying taste on the tongue.

But, boy-oh-boy, what 2 hours can do.  After approximately 2 hours of “breathing” this wine became smooth as silk, with flavors and aromas that integrated perfectly, and softness that assured the harmony of the wine.  Clearly the black raspberry won the battle and we must confess, we were very happy about it.  The complexity of the fruit, the deep aromas dominated by the raspberry, and the softening of the tannins made this a most enjoyable red wine.  With a long finish, this was a very memorable wine.  And at $17.00 it earns an enthusiastic 5, a must buy at this price.  Heck, we’d even pay a few bucks more.

Thanks Stephanie!