Prunotto was founded in 1904 by Alfredo Prunotto under the name Ai Vini delle Langhe. In 1989, the Marchesi Antinori family began its collaboration with the Prunotto Company, at first handling distribution and later getting directly involved in the production process, maintaining the excellent level of quality which Alfredo Prunotto had always insisted upon.
This wine comes from vineyards in the townships of Barbaresco, Treiso, Alba e Monforte d’Alba. The soils there were created by powerful marine currents during the Miocene epoch, mixed in composition with both sand and clay.
After the month of January and in the first part of February characterized by mild temperatures and scarce rainfall, abundant precipitations arrived in March and left highly useful reserves of ground water in the soil. The colder weather which followed led to a delay in the initial plant activity which can be estimated at approximately ten days, and this delay continued up until the end of summer, a season which also began slowly but then developed positively and continued with warm temperatures up until the end of September. The 2016 harvest was certainly one of the longest in recent years: it began on September 12th with Arneis and Dolcetto and continued without a pause up until the picking of the last Nebbiolo in mid-October. This was an excellent vintage for the Dolcetto, while the Barbera benefitted from the long growing season to accumulate sugar; the grapes were picked, however, with a tonic acidity as well. The Nebbiolo harvest began while the Barbera grapes were still being picked, and the crop was harvested, without the slightest problem, when the grapes were completely ripe both analytically and physiologically.
The 2016 vintage gave a healthy crop with an excellent balance of the various components in the grapes (sugars, acidity and polyphenols). After the destemming and pressing the grapes fermented for seven days on their skins at a maximum temperature of 27°-28° centigrade (80°-82° Fahrenheit). The malolactic fermentation was completed in mid-December and the wine was aged
al months in stainless steel tanks before bottling in the spring.
The Prunotto Dolcetto D'Alba 2016 is a lively ruby red in colour, grapey in aroma with notes of fruit and flowers. This is a classic Piedmontese wine which can be drunk during an entire meal from hors d’oeuvres to cheese.
