2009 Dolcetto d'Alba Solatio

(made from dolcetto picked late; tasted from tank a couple weeks prior to bottling): Impenetrable aromas of liqueur-like black and blue fruits, minerals and meat. Dense, seamless and wild but not at all sweet, with serious richness and depth to its inky black fruit, bitter chocolate and licorice flavors. Strong dolcetto acidity and firm tannic spine give this wine a serious structure for aging (the '85 vintage is still full of life, notes Alex Sanchez). Ten minutes later, the empty glass exuded scents of black cherry, leather and black olive. From very well-placed 45-year-old vines next to the Ca' Mia nebbiolo in Serralunga. The Brovias have made this wine just 11 times in 27 years; there will be no 2010 or 2011.