Claudio Viberti - 'Pubblicano', Dolcetto, Dogliani, Piemonte, Italy (2022)

TASTING NOTES

Vibrant red raspberry and black berry fruit. Ripe, round tannins with a well rounded, big fruited but ultra dry palate. 

Dogliani, a small village in the southern part of the Barolo production area, has been producing high-quality Dolcetto since 1593 with DOCG status finally given in 1974. The name Il Pubblicano is tied into the history of the harvest of the Dogliano region and the earliest day of when the grapes could be legally picked due to a municipal ordinance. September 21st or San Matteo Day was the day that was chosen, which is also known in the region as Il Pubblicano, or tax collection day.

Guyot-trained, southeast-facing vines on calcerous marl and sand soils at elevations of 420 to 450 meters.Hand Harvested in mid to late September and fermented over 15 to 18 days in a roto-fermenter with submerged skin cap in a 7,500 liter tank. Before the traditional pump over, the seeds are removed with maceration only on the skins. Malolatic  conversion follows in steel tanks at 20°C with 10 months in stainless steel tanks. No sulfites added.

The story began when Antonio Viberti made wine to serve at the family’s inn, Al Buon Padre. His son Giovanni expanded the vineyards in the 1960s and helped transition the winery into a more serious estate.

Today, Claudio and his brother continue the work as one of the quiet, enduring names of Piedmont on 20 hectares of sustainably farmed vines. Claudio focuses on native varieties and west-facing slopes at high elevation, which give the wines energy, aromatic lift and structure. Everything is estate grown, fermented with indigenous yeast, and aged without flashy oak.