Sandrone - Dolcetto d'Alba 2015 | Monsieur Touton Selection

Wine

Dolcetto is traditionally an easy-to-drink, everyday wine. Sandrone’s Dolcetto shows great plum and berry fruit, deep minerality and good, firm, ripe tannins. It is more than a "sweet little one", however, as it has good structure, with bright acid and the ability to age easily for five years or more

Estate

Luciano Sandrone is one of the iconic producers in Barolo, and his is both a well known and extraordinary story. He started to learn viticulture at the age of 14 or 15, and after years of work as a cellarman he depleted his life savings and purchased his first vineyard on the Cannubi hill in 1977, though he could only manage his land on the weekends while he continued to work. He made his first few vintages in his garage, until the winery he built in 1998 was ready. The new winery, built at the foot of the steep Cannubi hillside in the heart of the Barolo district, is characterized by the respect for tradition and desire for innovation that also define Sandrone wines.

Vineyard

Sandrone Dolcetto d’Alba is produced using 100% Dolcetto grapes from some of Alba's finest plots. There are four grape production areas, two in Barolo and the others are divided equally between Novello and Monforte d’Alba; more specifically the vineyards in Barolo are called Rivassi and Crosia; in Monforte d’Alba, Castelletto; and Cascina Pe Mol and Ravera in Novello. These areas are particularly suited for the production of Dolcetto d’Alba as the soil and the mesoclimates create a perfect environment in which the grapes can grow

Vinification

Each vineyard is vinified separately, and after destemming and light crushing, the must is covered with CO2 for a gentle warm maceration of approximately a day. Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24- 36 hours later from native wild yeasts only. A gentle maceration takes place in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 5-9 days of alcoholic fermentation. After alcoholic fermentation, which takes 14 days, malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine is aged in stainless steel and bottled in July.

Vintage

2015 Dolcetto d'Alba had an exemplary growing season for this varietal. The flowering was perfect with little shatter. In our vineyards, abundant water reserves avoided any hydric stress, even in the hottest part of the summer. A very even ripening period led to incredibly beautiful fruit this year, with fantastic color. A bit of hail in the Pe Mol plantings reduced the yield somewhat, but overall the quantity was "abbondante" (abundant) - a relief after last season's scarce crop.

Italy Piemonte Dolcetto D'Alba