Elio Grasso Dolcetto d’Alba “dei Grassi” 2018

“This wine had just been bottled when I tasted it, so I tasted it from vat (hence the range of scores). It is of a more meagre color and has less structure than usual, as growing Dolcetto proved difficult in 2018. “We started off on the wrong foot,” Gianluca Grasso tells me. Yields were down about 55%, and they had to do two treatments of the Dolcetto, which is a particularly difficult variety to grow in these organic vineyards, as opposed to Nebbiolo which did surprisingly well. As a result, this 2018 Dolcetto d’Alba dei Grassi is thin and has little heft. It is immediately approachable but definitely one of Elio Grasso’s less important wines in this selection.” – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate