Luigi Einaudi Dolcetto Dogliani 2020

Dolcetto is an Italian treasure. The wines are amongst the easiest drinking Reds in all of Italy, if not the world. Most are known for their soft balance of fleshy fruits, moderate acids, and an airy lightness that makes them absolutely delicious.

The wines are great and a substantial step up if grown near Alba, but even better near Dogliani, what is considered the eponymous zone and the grand cru of Dolcetto, where in the higher elevations serious wines are being made. Wines of Dogliani are highly complex and sophisticated, and they’re even better at the highest elevations (like today’s from 1100 atop the Einaudi estate).

The major knock against it is that vineyards are under attack, many are being ripped out at a deplorable rate to make way for the much more fashionable Nebbiolo. It doesn’t always ripen well here, but it’s easy to export.

A few of the highest quality growers have banded together in recent years to protect these very special hilltop vineyards. But no one has made a larger contribution to the variety’s cause than Giuseppe Caviola.

The man is a legend in Italy, considered one of the most important winemakers in the country and regularly consulting at more than 30 wineries. The winemaker is famously known as the “Dolcetto King” and his methods have helped wineries from Dogliani to Langhe to update their winemaking methods and make wines that have more sophistication and length.