2016 Fratelli Brovia Dolcetto d'Alba Vignavillej

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 89.4 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/22/2022 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  100% organically farmed Dolcetto, from vineyards in Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba, planted in 1981 and 1993. After crushing the grapes are macerated with the skins for 7-10 days in stainless steel, followed by 7 to 9 months of aging. Bottled unfiltered. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Still quite youthful and rather opaque blackish ruby color with a faint purplish hue. The nose feels youthful, bright and fruity with slightly sweetish aromas of bilberries and chokeberries, some sappy red-toned notes, a little bit of stony minerality, light dried herb nuances, a hint of fresh cherry and a touch of earth. The wine is ripe, juicy and textural on the palate with a moderately full body and dry, crunchy flavors of bilberries and succulent dark plums, some brambly raspberry tones, a little bit of red licorice, light dried herb nuances, a hint of crunchy crowberry and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The wine is quite high in acidity with ripe yet firm and moderately grippy tannins. The finish is rich, ripe and somewhat grippy with a long, subtly sweet-toned aftertaste of bilberries and juicy red plums, some cranberry tones, a little bit of crunchy chokeberry, light earthy nuances, a hint of red licorice and a touch of dried herbs.
  
  A very tasty and balanced Dolcetto that has developed a tiny bit of finesse and nuance since my last taste 2½ years ago, but still feels quite youthful as a whole. Although the wine has lost some of its primary qualities, the overall feel has maybe developed a bit of ripe-fruited sweetness at the same time, making the wine feel like it has gained a bit of breadth and weight as well. Good stuff - the wine is drinking very nicely already now, but there's still a great amount of room for further evolution. At 12,50€ this has been a superb purchase.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/24/2020 - forceberry wrote: 89 Points

  100% organically farmed Dolcetto, vinified in stainless steel. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Deep, slightly translucent and still very youthful blackish ruby color. Quite expressive, youthful and even somewhat primary nose with aromas of ripe dark forest fruits, licorice, some dusty earth, a little bit of bilberry, a hint of red cherry and a touch of dried herbs. The wine is dry, acid-driven and rather bitter on the palate with vibrant flavors of ripe bilberries, sour cherries, some licorice root, a little bit of earthy spice, crunchy hints of crowberries and blueberries and a touch of dried herbs. The high acidity and the ripe, firm and more textural than grippy tannins keep the wine very nicely in balance. The finish is dry, gently grippy and moderately grippy with fresh flavors of blueberries, brambly raspberries, some crunchy notes of chokeberries, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light licorice root tones, a hint of peppery spice and a touch of dried herbs.
  
  A nice, positively angular and quite uncompromising Dolcetto with a very gastronomic overall feel. This doesn't feel like it tries to be a big or impressive Piemontese red, nor does it try to be a simple and easy little Dolcetto. This is a well-made effort that emphasizes the strengths of the variety without trying to overdo it. Still very youthful in style, I bet a few years more in a cellar could grant the wine with some additional depth and finesse. All in all, a very lovely Dolcetto and a top-notch weekday food wine. Ridiculous value at 12,50€.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View BRogo's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/10/2019 - BRogo Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Nose has a dusting of dirt, rose petals, black cherry, black current, blackberry (so dark fruit). The pallet has a rush of acidity that just makes the mouth salivate with that bit of tannin that leaves the tip of your tongue dry. There’s definitely time left in this bottle. The taste is a lot of the same as the nose with more pronounced dirt and minerals. It’s yum and definitely holds up to a peppery steak.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View TRENZ's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/14/2019 - TRENZ wrote: 89 Points

  Rich deep purple color - striking. Nice tannins medium to high. Plummy w hint of tobacco. Enjoyable. (D)

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View the godfather's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/6/2018 - the godfather wrote:

  Super yummy, surprisingly dark, great with Indian food

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.