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RATINGS How It Works

93 Insider Points

REVIEWS

It's Tasty and It's not as Headachy? I'm Game.
When we first teamed up with Sebastiano at La Collina dei Re, it was for his killer Barolo and Barbaresco. Then he told us about his newest project to craft wines with low histamines. It seemed sketchy at first, but then I tried the wine. It's as delicious as the rest of his lineup. I'd be interested in seeing more of these wines pop their way over to the US.

Rose petals and fresh leather on the nose. A vibrant palate showing earthy raspberry, raw cacao, red currant and cranberry. Light-medium bodied with a long, exuberant finish. Bust out your party hats for this one, we're going all night long. 93 Points - JZ Aug '18

WHY WE LOVE IT
  • BLEND
    Dolcetto d'Alba
  • APPELLATION
    Piedmont, Italy
  • ALCOHOL
    13.50%
  • SIZE
    750ml

Some people write that "Alba Dolcettos are the best Piedmontese everyday drinker". When crafted like this, (by a favorite Barolo star), and showing fleshy, rich and sans histamines, we have to agree. Hence after tasting it, we had to direct import it as a US exclusive.

  • Nebbiolo may be the King of Piedmont, but Dolcetto is on better terms with the locals: the Piedmontese usually only bring out the Barolos and Barbarescos after they’ve already cracked a couple bottles of Dolcetto or Barbera.
  • The science has been out for awhile: if you’re in for some low-histamine wines, just skip the reds altogether--but that’s a shame when it comes to La Collina Dei Re, as the winery’s quality is hard to pass up.  Enter the 2016 Dolcetto: all the delight of a classic Piedmontese drinker without the headache that follows from a couple of glasses.  For those who are sensitive, that’s called getting your bang for you buck.
  • The winemaking philosophy is charmingly rustic: they don’t use chemical fertilizers but continue to work the land like it was a hundred years ago; but in the cellar, they’re all about the modern techniques.
  • In contrast, when it comes to the U.S. market, Dolcetto is an insider’s dream: you’re not likely to find this on many restaurant menus.  The wines are great, the price tags are soft, and the wine is very niche on our shores . . . making us wonder why more of us aren’t indulging in it more often.
  • Its showing perfectly now, just as it will in the next few years.
TASTING NOTES 

A medium bodied wine with fruit-forward flavors. You'll taste notes of raspberry, cranberry, and red currant. 

Dolcetto has a tendency to taste jammy in the hot years,  but these older vines ripen later than average and this risk is reduced. Dolcetto also tends to go into reductive phases so the wine sees more racking as a result. This vintage delivers good layering fruit at the front and a nice finish.

THE STORY TO KNOW

From the winery:

The label that identifies this great Barolo round tannins and a spicy aftertaste was carried out by children, in collaboration with the painter Bebbe Grillo. Part of the profits will be donated to African Charitable Mission Ndugu Zangu in Kenya that takes care of orphaned children. The founder Luigi Panzeri, simply called mzee Luigi (Luigi grandfather), born in 1936, had his first contact with Africa in 1985.

Since then, he has worked hard in all ways to help poor people in Kenya, especially those from the Samburu, still nomadic herders. In 1996, he moved permanently to Oldonyiro, in the middle of the savannah, where he founded the Ndugu Zangu Christian Community, which now houses and educates more than 200 children and orphans.

In addition to accommodation, the Community has a small hospital and primary school. Since 2001, he is also the organizer of the journeys of hope (Viaggi della Speranza): More than a hundred young people and children with heart problems have traveled to Italy to undergo surgery. Since 2010, his angels, heart patients, have also been hosted at the modern Salam Centre in Sudan made by Emergency. A large solidarity chain supports the work of Grandfather Luigi, who repeats to everyone: "We need the cooperation of many people with a big heart who know how to love humanity in suffering, especially the children.”

For this reason, the winery “Veglio Michelino & Figlio, La Collina Dei Re,” together with the Promote Association "Piemonte Sweet Home" and the international Wine Consultant Sebastiano Ramello, has decided to spread this project to the world through a great wine like Barolo DOCG.

PERFECT PAIRINGS

Try this with a rich vegetable Lasagna or Ravioli. If you're looking to try it with meat, we recommend trying it with Beer-Braised chicken or a rack of lamb.