Ponzi Dolcetto 05
Ponzi Dolcetto 05 - An intriguing nose of black currant, allspice, black pepper and laurel precede the ripe, full mouth of blackberry, licorice spice and bright blueberry. The finish is long with soft tannins. -Luisa Ponzi
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From the winery:
HISTORY: Dolcetto is a second varietal in the Ponzi family's Italian series. Sharing the spotlight with Ponzi Arneis, Dolcetto also has roots in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. It is an early ripening varietal with great color and spicy flavors. The family planted some of Oregon's first Dolcetto in 1992 at their Aurora Vineyard. Luisa feels that Dolcetto is a promising varietal for Oregon as it is so adaptable to Oregon's climatic conditions.
HARVEST 2004: A deep winter freeze and spring rains resulted in very low-yielding vines with inconsistent berry size. Dolcetto, which has a later flowering date, fared better than many other varietals. As the fruit reached maturity in mid-September, Oregon was again subjected to stormy weather of hail and rain. Fortunately, the end of September brought warm, dry weather with light winds to dry up the vines and finish ripening at a leisurely pace. All of these events resulted in beautiful freshness and Oregon's trademark intense fruit flavors. This Dolcetto is grown at our Aurora Vineyard where the vines are now 13 years old.
FERMENTATION: The delicate grapes were hand picked, sorted and destemmed. Fermentation was by native yeast and temperatures did not exceed 90 degrees. The wine was pressed before dryness and moved to French oak. Malolactic fermentation occurred naturally and the wine aged for 14 months in oak before bottling by gravity.
