2008 Dolcetto d'Alba

Enologist Alberto Cordero compares 2006 to 2004 in that both are very good vintages that featured easy harvests and presented no significant problems. The average level of quality is higher in 2006 than in 2005, he told me, because it was tricky to time the 2005 harvest around the rains of September and October: "A lot depended on the work in the vines and at harvest-time. But La Morra generally did better than Monforte and Serralunga because we had more early ripeness here." At the best addresses, he said, the 2005s are typical, complex and site-specific. They're more interesting because you feel the terroir, but that's really relevant only if you are familiar with the terroirs of Barolo; 2005, 2001 and 1999 are the classic representatives of terroir and nebbiolo, while 2004 and 2006 are better wines for the market due to their fruitiness and body." Cordero believes that his 2005s will age even longer than the estate's 2006s, and he was not the only winemaker on my tour to express that opinion. (Numerous importers, including Omni Wines, Flushing, NY; Haw River Wine Man, Burlington, NC; and Wine Warehouse, Richmond, CA)