2024 Bartolo Mascarello, Dolcetto d'Alba

The 2024 Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d'Alba DOC hails from the historic hills around Alba in Piedmont, Italy, where the Dolcetto grape thrives in diverse clay, limestone, and marl soils under a temperate climate. Crafted by the legendary Bartolo Mascarello winery, now guided by Maria Teresa Mascarello, this wine embodies a staunchly traditional philosophy, utilizing indigenous yeasts and aging in neutral botti to allow the terroir to speak authentically. The 2024 vintage, marked by a wet spring and summer with significant September rains, demanded meticulous vineyard management, yet successful producers like Mascarello achieved wines of "good sugar concentration levels and good freshness" through careful cluster thinning. This Dolcetto d'Alba represents a pure and vibrant expression of the varietal, reflecting both the unique character of its origin and the producer's unwavering commitment to an honest, unmanipulated wine, anticipated to be a lighter, approachable style from a challenging yet rewarding year.