We have a wine for you today that we submit into the spotlight of awareness even knowing it may eventually not need us anymore. All birds must leave the nest at some point, but hopefully light enough that they can begin to fly.
As inflation continues to unfurl its ghastly wings and tariffs plague vintages around the globe it gets harder and harder to find the wines that deliver total joy with zero cost fatigue. We find ourselves as retailers digging deeper and deeper for the bottles that will delight upon first sip and draw a set of raised eyebrows when the price tag is read. When we find one, it’s hard to not be giddy with excitement and simultaneously terrified if everyone finds out all at once. It’s one of wine’s great tragedies; discovery is often wed to growing inaccessibility.
Well, we have a wine for you today that we submit into the spotlight of awareness even knowing it may eventually not need us anymore. All birds must leave the nest at some point, but hopefully light enough that they can begin to fly.
At $17.85 member price the Pecchenino San Luigi Dogliani is certainly light enough to both fly and also not weigh down your wallet. This is Piedmont Dolcetto with so much finesse and restraint that it received a resounding set of oohs and ahhs from the staff when it hit our counter this last week. Dolcetto is a variety I sometimes struggle with if I’m being honest. There are so many examples where the structure of the wine speaks a little bit too loudly the etymology of its name (little sweet one) than my palate can tolerate. This Pecchenino bottling in contrast is so agile, elegant, and perfumed, that it craves to be enjoyed at the dining table and for many bottles to be opened.
The Pecchenino family has been making wine in Dogliani for four generations. Brothers Orlando and Attilio took the reins in the late 1980s, transforming the family's modest eight-hectare estate into one of the area's more recognizable names. Today, a new generation is joining the fold, including Orlando's three daughters, Lisa, Gaia, and Sofia. For all the expansion and ambition over the intervening decades, the family's reputation remains closely tied to Dolcetto, the grape that first put Dogliani on the map.
Dogliani is worth understanding in its own right. While Dolcetto is often relegated to the role of Piedmont's inexpensive, everyday red, here it enjoys a considerably more distinguished reputation, even earning its own DOCG designation in 2005. Pecchenino's San Luigi is a wonderful argument for taking the grape seriously without insisting that the occasion be serious too. There's something particularly satisfying about a family dedicating this much attention to a variety that remains so accessible to the rest of us.
This wine is terrifically delicious and I hope you’ll put an ample amount away to enjoy frequently over the coming months.
2024 Pecchenino San Luigi Dogliani: $21/bottle or $17.85 w/ Member discount.
Aromatic, juicy, and bursting with red and black cherry fruit, the Pecchenino San Luigi Dogliani is a paramount example of what happens when wine is made with love and authenticity by a family that knows what its doing, and comes from place that was born to showcase its talents. The backbone of lovely Italian acidity in this bottle will lighten your palate between bites of the heartier meals we’re all beginning to cook as the seasons change.
