2024 Bruno Rocca Dolcetto d'Alba Trifole, Piedmont

The 2024 Dolcetto d'Alba Trifolè is one of the best Dolcettos I have tasted so far in this vintage. It offers terrific freshness and verve, as so many wines do in 2024, but it also has lovely depth to pull it all together. Hints of lavender, blue/purplish fruit and dried herbs linger. A dollop of whole clusters (20%) is not especially evident. High class.

92 points Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Bruno Rocca is best known for beautifully polished Barbaresco, but the family’s roots in the Langhe stretch back to the 1950s, when Francesco Rocca purchased vineyards in Rabajà. Bruno later transformed the estate into one of Barbaresco’s most respected names, and today the next generation, Francesco and Luisa, works alongside him. Trifole gives us a more relaxed side of the family without losing that attention to detail.

Dolcetto is one of Piedmont’s great everyday reds, naturally low in acidity but generous in colour, fruit and savoury bite. The 2024 Trifole is made for early drinking, capturing the grape’s dark fruit and gently rustic personality rather than trying to turn it into something grander. There is enough structure for the table, but the pleasure here is its immediacy.

Deep ruby purple with blackberry, black cherry and ripe plum, joined by violet, liquorice and a touch of bitter almond. The palate is juicy and medium bodied, with dark fruit at its centre and the characteristic Dolcetto combination of soft acidity and pleasantly grippy tannins. Plum skin, anise, almond and a little earthy spice give the finish a distinctly Piedmontese savouriness.

Pizza with mushrooms and taleggio is right in its comfort zone, as are pork and fennel sausages, eggplant parmigiana, charred radicchio with walnuts or a simple plate of salumi and cheese. A slight chill works beautifully too, particularly when dinner is casual and another bottle is already looking inevitable. Cellaring: Drink now to 2030.