Pecchenino San Luigi Bricco Botti Dolcetto di Dogliani 2010

Like Romeo and Juliet or Antony and Cleopatra, Pecchenino Dolcetto di Dogliani and lamb ragu were born to be with each other. Yes, they are delicious on their own: the San Luigi’s criminally pure morello cherry, raspberry and cocoa-y flavours are a sheer joy any time but, pair it with some very slowly stewed lamb ragu, with fresh thyme, rosemary and black olives, ideally made by an Italian Mama, and the pair are exalted into a love story so beautiful that it could have been penned by The Bard himself.

The Pecchenino estate was born in the 18th century. It started out with only eight hectares but today the estate stands at 25 hectares, all of them in the township of Dogliani. Dolcetto makes up 65% of total production, but they also grow Barbera, Nebbiolo, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine is produced in San Luigi, in the Dogliani area – one of the most famous areas for the production of Dolcetto grapes. Bricco Botti is one of the oldest vineyards of Dolcetto, is at an altitude of 420 metres and the vines are planted at a density vines of 5500 plants/ha.

Orlando Pecchenino and Consulting Oenologist Beppe Caviola use a guyot vine training system and all work is done by hand. They use organic methods of viniculture involving minimal spraying and strictly no insecticides. Green harvesting brings final yields down to about 55–60 q/ha. The philosophy of production is aimed at obtaining a quality wine. Harvest took place on September 22 and individual lots were fermented separately. Maceration on the skins lasted for 25 days at 28° C. Fermentation took place with indigenous yeasts and the wine was aged for 24 months in French oak casks of 25 hl. Bottling took place the following May.

The wine is a dense and impenetrable shade of ruby red/garnet and the nose has flavours of caramel, chocolate and spice with a finish of ripe fruit. On the palate there is an explosion of well-balanced flavours with incredibly soft black cherry and raspberry flavours. It has smooth, velvety tannins, excellent balance and very, very long persistence.