EP 497 An Italian Wine Tasting Of The Dolcetto

Gary still thinks the Dolcetto wines are some of the best values out there and these little wines from Piedmont bring serious thunder.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Grimaldi Dolcetto D’albaDolcetto d’Alba
2005 Pietro Rinaldi Dolcetto D’albaDolcetto d’Alba
2006 Azelia Dolcetto D’albaDolcetto d’Alba

Links mentioned in todays episode.

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John__J

qotd: Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Theo Riesling was the best, Valdivieso Chardonnay was the worst

Tags: Dolcetto, Italian, red, review, Video, wine, wines

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  • Gonzo

    QOTD:
    Best wine this weekend – Buty Columbia Rediviva 2002. It was probably the fact I was drinking it with my fiance who I hadn’t seen in a month or maybe the amazing Fillet Mignon we had it with (FYI Marx Brothers in Anchorage, AK is awesome), but man that was a tastee bottle of the vino.

    Worst wine this weekend – Lone Canary Sauv Blanc 2006. Flabby, although it had a nice melon component.

  • Gonzo

    QOTD:
    Best wine this weekend – Buty Columbia Rediviva 2002. It was probably the fact I was drinking it with my fiance who I hadn’t seen in a month or maybe the amazing Fillet Mignon we had it with (FYI Marx Brothers in Anchorage, AK is awesome), but man that was a tastee bottle of the vino.

    Worst wine this weekend – Lone Canary Sauv Blanc 2006. Flabby, although it had a nice melon component.

  • M

    QOTD: Had a lot of favorites! It was along weekend. Had reds and whites from Languedoc. Had a red from the Rhone area. Maybe the worst was a taste of tempranillo from somewhere in Spain, not rioja. Liked the spanish rueda/verdejo.

  • M

    QOTD: Had a lot of favorites! It was along weekend. Had reds and whites from Languedoc. Had a red from the Rhone area. Maybe the worst was a taste of tempranillo from somewhere in Spain, not rioja. Liked the spanish rueda/verdejo.

  • Neil

    QOTD: The best wine: Chateau Sansonnet 2003. The worst wine: Chimney Rock 2000 Elevage. I guess it didn’t hold up to time.

    The microphone has limitations: 1.) It’s a condenser mic which makes your voice sound sqished; 2.) When you say “Hello everybody…”, and “Mott, Link it Up..” it distorts your voice instead of sounding louder; 3.) It really does a great job of picking up on the spit bucket sounds whicj may or may not be a good thing. How about putting it farther away from your squawk box on a lapel or something. Scratch that, how bout going back to the overhead mic? Huh???????????????

  • Neil

    QOTD: The best wine: Chateau Sansonnet 2003. The worst wine: Chimney Rock 2000 Elevage. I guess it didn’t hold up to time.

    The microphone has limitations: 1.) It’s a condenser mic which makes your voice sound sqished; 2.) When you say “Hello everybody…”, and “Mott, Link it Up..” it distorts your voice instead of sounding louder; 3.) It really does a great job of picking up on the spit bucket sounds whicj may or may not be a good thing. How about putting it farther away from your squawk box on a lapel or something. Scratch that, how bout going back to the overhead mic? Huh???????????????

  • Smith MBA

    Dolcetto is a solid grape. Always into the piemonte.

    No wine this weekend. I crushed my finger under a television helping my buddy move so it was tough to open up a bottle. I’m ok only a little gash.

  • Smith MBA

    Dolcetto is a solid grape. Always into the piemonte.

    No wine this weekend. I crushed my finger under a television helping my buddy move so it was tough to open up a bottle. I’m ok only a little gash.

  • Hey G… don’t read too much into this, but, now…when you spit… I have the urge to go pee? what’s up with that?
    qotd…I only drank one bottle of wine over the weekend. A Riesling I made myself ๐Ÿ™‚ other than that it was beer… hey it was the 4th.

  • Hey G… don’t read too much into this, but, now…when you spit… I have the urge to go pee? what’s up with that?
    qotd…I only drank one bottle of wine over the weekend. A Riesling I made myself ๐Ÿ™‚ other than that it was beer… hey it was the 4th.

  • Wendy

    The best: 2004 Kanu Limited Release, KIA-ORA, Noble Late Harvest. A Stellenbosch white dessert wine from South Africa with a BIG sweet flavour.
    Mouth coating and perfect in small amounts that can be tasted on and on and on.

    The worst: none this time.

    Wendy and Bill

  • Wendy

    The best: 2004 Kanu Limited Release, KIA-ORA, Noble Late Harvest. A Stellenbosch white dessert wine from South Africa with a BIG sweet flavour.
    Mouth coating and perfect in small amounts that can be tasted on and on and on.

    The worst: none this time.

    Wendy and Bill

  • Joe

    Can’t wait to see you in SF! I’ll be there, don’t know what I’m gonna bring yet though.

  • Joe

    Can’t wait to see you in SF! I’ll be there, don’t know what I’m gonna bring yet though.

  • Andy

    Thanks for the Dolecetto G always a interesting wine…
    QOTD— We had a Italian white wine tasting and all of them were pretty good …. The best was 2006 San Gimignano and the least favorite was a basic Orvieto …. but still acceptable

  • Andy

    Thanks for the Dolecetto G always a interesting wine…
    QOTD— We had a Italian white wine tasting and all of them were pretty good …. The best was 2006 San Gimignano and the least favorite was a basic Orvieto …. but still acceptable

  • Pete G

    I’m diggin the new format. Love the upgraded intro – very “Get Shorty esque”
    Gonna hafta get used to that “swish/swirl” mic though.

    QOTD: No bad wines this weekend. Best? Riondo prosecco.

  • Pete G

    I’m diggin the new format. Love the upgraded intro – very “Get Shorty esque”
    Gonna hafta get used to that “swish/swirl” mic though.

    QOTD: No bad wines this weekend. Best? Riondo prosecco.

  • Rick D

    QOTD: 2005 Bodegas Castano “Solanera Vinas Viejas” Yecla, Spain. This was my first wine from this region and I will now seek out other examples. No worst, only had this one bottle unfortunately.

    Don’t care for the new mike. I agree with “Withnail” You no longer sound warm, personal, intimate as you usually do. Also, magnifies the swishing sound as you are tasting.

  • Rick D

    QOTD: 2005 Bodegas Castano “Solanera Vinas Viejas” Yecla, Spain. This was my first wine from this region and I will now seek out other examples. No worst, only had this one bottle unfortunately.

    Don’t care for the new mike. I agree with “Withnail” You no longer sound warm, personal, intimate as you usually do. Also, magnifies the swishing sound as you are tasting.

  • Rick D

    Forgot to say I bought a bottle of the 2005 Pietro Rinaldi Dolcetto Dรข??alba the last time I ordered from WL. Now I can’t wait to try it.

  • Rick D

    Forgot to say I bought a bottle of the 2005 Pietro Rinaldi Dolcetto Dรข??alba the last time I ordered from WL. Now I can’t wait to try it.

  • TLR

    QOTD

    Best wine Crossings Sav. Blanc from New Zealand very crisp very refreshing

    Worst – 1981 Charles Krug Cabernet just too old

  • TLR

    QOTD

    Best wine Crossings Sav. Blanc from New Zealand very crisp very refreshing

    Worst – 1981 Charles Krug Cabernet just too old

  • Chris

    Can you please throw the mic away? I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with the sound…. I was very distressed during the whole show. It’s just not right.

  • Chris

    Can you please throw the mic away? I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with the sound…. I was very distressed during the whole show. It’s just not right.

  • pawncop

    Great episode, cannot wait for 499 nor 500.

    QOTD – had to work the weekend so no wine for me but earlier did have a bottle of Franciscan 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon that I really enjoyed.

    Did not have worst bottle but did have a 2005 Justin Cab that was good but not as good as the Franciscan.

  • pawncop

    Great episode, cannot wait for 499 nor 500.

    QOTD – had to work the weekend so no wine for me but earlier did have a bottle of Franciscan 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon that I really enjoyed.

    Did not have worst bottle but did have a 2005 Justin Cab that was good but not as good as the Franciscan.

  • Jay

    Wow! Sorry to say it, but thumbs down on the new mike. You sounded like you had the head cold of a century!

  • Antony

    On the wine front, I had a bottle of Chevalier de Lascombes 2004. It was good but not brilliant.

    On the geek front, that mic’ really is not working for you. May be that it’s cheap (in which case try a Countryman B6 from B&H). More likely, it’s too sensitive which would mean checking out if there is a ‘trim’ option in the audio menu on the camera. If not, you can buy pads to reduce the dbs. Other things to try are setting the audio levels manually and putting the clp mic’ through one channel and the on camera mic’ through the other – just to give a bit of ambience. Finally, if you’re out and about, make sure you’ve got a fluffy wind shield.

  • Jay

    Wow! Sorry to say it, but thumbs down on the new mike. You sounded like you had the head cold of a century!

  • Antony

    On the wine front, I had a bottle of Chevalier de Lascombes 2004. It was good but not brilliant.

    On the geek front, that mic’ really is not working for you. May be that it’s cheap (in which case try a Countryman B6 from B&H). More likely, it’s too sensitive which would mean checking out if there is a ‘trim’ option in the audio menu on the camera. If not, you can buy pads to reduce the dbs. Other things to try are setting the audio levels manually and putting the clp mic’ through one channel and the on camera mic’ through the other – just to give a bit of ambience. Finally, if you’re out and about, make sure you’ve got a fluffy wind shield.

  • The Original Marc

    QOTD: Worst – whatever was in the keg at my girlfriend’s friend’s fourth of July party. Best – Olde Main Pale Ale.

    Both are beers, but I didn’t have any wine over the weekend so I figured I’d go this route.

  • The Original Marc

    QOTD: Worst – whatever was in the keg at my girlfriend’s friend’s fourth of July party. Best – Olde Main Pale Ale.

    Both are beers, but I didn’t have any wine over the weekend so I figured I’d go this route.

  • Dave H

    Love the Mascarello t-shirt, and psyched to see you’ve popped into Terroir. (I need to stop in more often so I can run into you there.)

    Don’t love the clip-on mike…

    QOTD: last week was an interesting wine week for me as I was on a family vacation to Michigan and had the opportunity to taste some local wines from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA and on the whole I was darn impressed. My favorite maybe was the 06 dry Riesling from Tabor Hill, perfectly bone-dry, classic petrol and latex thing going on, nice minerality, and even a decent deal at tasting room prices. (I came fairly close to buying one to send into WLTV.) Their Cab Franc was totally overpriced (like 30 bones or so), but again I was super impressed to see solid wine-making, very good fruit, and utterly classic varietal character. Even the Reserve Chard was completely restrained with a very nice, Burgundian nose (slightly odd flavor on the palate, but still perfectly decent wine).

    Overall I’d say Tabor Hill showed better (to my palate, which is very much not in the California direction) than probably 80% of the places I visited in CA, and that’s disregarding the fact that they gave us 8+ pours for free, with their entire selection available.

    On the other hand when you go through the tastings at a number of small wineries in a not-very-wine-savvy location, you get plenty of clunkers. Everywhere seemed to be pushing their “semi-dry” wines as crowd pleasers, every one of which I tasted was completely lacking in the acidity necessary for an off-dry wine, although again the source fruit was not bad. Out of curiosity I took a taste of the sweet peach wine at Round Barn, which was fairly god-awful (canned peach juice, basically), but out of respect for the LMS I’ll peg the worst wine of the week the Hugo Shiraz my parents brought up with them, which somehow managed to be simultaneously undrinkable and deathly boring.

  • Dave H

    Love the Mascarello t-shirt, and psyched to see you’ve popped into Terroir. (I need to stop in more often so I can run into you there.)

    Don’t love the clip-on mike…

    QOTD: last week was an interesting wine week for me as I was on a family vacation to Michigan and had the opportunity to taste some local wines from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA and on the whole I was darn impressed. My favorite maybe was the 06 dry Riesling from Tabor Hill, perfectly bone-dry, classic petrol and latex thing going on, nice minerality, and even a decent deal at tasting room prices. (I came fairly close to buying one to send into WLTV.) Their Cab Franc was totally overpriced (like 30 bones or so), but again I was super impressed to see solid wine-making, very good fruit, and utterly classic varietal character. Even the Reserve Chard was completely restrained with a very nice, Burgundian nose (slightly odd flavor on the palate, but still perfectly decent wine).

    Overall I’d say Tabor Hill showed better (to my palate, which is very much not in the California direction) than probably 80% of the places I visited in CA, and that’s disregarding the fact that they gave us 8+ pours for free, with their entire selection available.

    On the other hand when you go through the tastings at a number of small wineries in a not-very-wine-savvy location, you get plenty of clunkers. Everywhere seemed to be pushing their “semi-dry” wines as crowd pleasers, every one of which I tasted was completely lacking in the acidity necessary for an off-dry wine, although again the source fruit was not bad. Out of curiosity I took a taste of the sweet peach wine at Round Barn, which was fairly god-awful (canned peach juice, basically), but out of respect for the LMS I’ll peg the worst wine of the week the Hugo Shiraz my parents brought up with them, which somehow managed to be simultaneously undrinkable and deathly boring.

  • JonE

    Two weeks after the original Dolcetto episode-I had a Brovia Dolcetto @Otto in NYC. It was perfect pizza bliss. Thanks G-Man

    QOTD:
    Worst-Treana 04′ White (really not bad, but not as good in comparison)
    Best-Elizabeth Spencer 04′ Pinot Noir-good not great, close to fair

    I think I was 0 for 2.

  • JonE

    Two weeks after the original Dolcetto episode-I had a Brovia Dolcetto @Otto in NYC. It was perfect pizza bliss. Thanks G-Man

    QOTD:
    Worst-Treana 04′ White (really not bad, but not as good in comparison)
    Best-Elizabeth Spencer 04′ Pinot Noir-good not great, close to fair

    I think I was 0 for 2.

  • DaveK

    Gustatory GUS-tuh-tor-ee, adjective:
    Of or pertaining to the sense of taste.
    Dictionary.com Word of the day: Word of the Day for Monday, July 7, 2008
    Sorry I missed you in Oregon! No longer a lurker.

  • DaveK

    Gustatory \GUS-tuh-tor-ee\, adjective:
    Of or pertaining to the sense of taste.
    Dictionary.com Word of the day: Word of the Day for Monday, July 7, 2008
    Sorry I missed you in Oregon! No longer a lurker.

  • I didn’t have a bottle of wine….:(

  • I didn’t have a bottle of wine….:(

  • Oklahoma Michael

    QOTD=Best was Pierre Morlet Brut NV Rocking big time bubbly 30 bones!!!! Worst PJ Grand Brut NV. Maybe because we had the Morlet first, the PJ just made us wish for more of the Morlet. ps, not sure what PJ is? turn the computer off and bang your head rapidly into the nearest wall

  • Oklahoma Michael

    QOTD=Best was Pierre Morlet Brut NV Rocking big time bubbly 30 bones!!!! Worst PJ Grand Brut NV. Maybe because we had the Morlet first, the PJ just made us wish for more of the Morlet. ps, not sure what PJ is? turn the computer off and bang your head rapidly into the nearest wall

  • NY Pete

    Thanks for the shout out Dude ๐Ÿ™‚ Dolcetto’s rock. PS- you should do a sound check next time.

  • NY Pete

    Thanks for the shout out Dude ๐Ÿ™‚ Dolcetto’s rock. PS- you should do a sound check next time.

  • Ahhhh, he’s back and stronger than ever. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the last time or if I’ve ever had a Dolcetto. That’s embarrassing so I need to change that soon and add it to my Centurion Club list.

    QOTD: I had so many wines this long weekend it was hard to keep track. I will say the best wine was a non-descript NZ SB called Oyster Bay. So good in fact, I just ordered a case. The worst? I hate to admit it but the Treana white you reviewed a week or so ago was not up to expectation. Just not my style.

    It was a pleasure meeting you in Rockville but I forgot my wristband! Can you have Brandon or someone throw one in my case before it leaves the shop? ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!
    Dom

    P.S. I can email the receipt from the booksigning if need be to follow the rules!

  • Fred

    Hey Chuck…great show…no wine this past weekend as I had to work…bummer…love the new wristband, will try to get one…Thanks for coming to Portland…enjoyed the talk and it was great to me you…even better chatting with Lizzie…you married WAY above your means dude….tried to talk her into coming on the show…no go…anyway…congrats on 500 shows…you are the MAN! Fred in Oregon….you gotta show the ORYGUN sticker…

  • Ahhhh, he’s back and stronger than ever. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the last time or if I’ve ever had a Dolcetto. That’s embarrassing so I need to change that soon and add it to my Centurion Club list.

    QOTD: I had so many wines this long weekend it was hard to keep track. I will say the best wine was a non-descript NZ SB called Oyster Bay. So good in fact, I just ordered a case. The worst? I hate to admit it but the Treana white you reviewed a week or so ago was not up to expectation. Just not my style.

    It was a pleasure meeting you in Rockville but I forgot my wristband! Can you have Brandon or someone throw one in my case before it leaves the shop? ๐Ÿ™‚

    Cheers!
    Dom

    P.S. I can email the receipt from the booksigning if need be to follow the rules!

  • Fred

    Hey Chuck…great show…no wine this past weekend as I had to work…bummer…love the new wristband, will try to get one…Thanks for coming to Portland…enjoyed the talk and it was great to me you…even better chatting with Lizzie…you married WAY above your means dude….tried to talk her into coming on the show…no go…anyway…congrats on 500 shows…you are the MAN! Fred in Oregon….you gotta show the ORYGUN sticker…

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