Menthol, dark fruit, leather, licorice and violets emerge from the 2009 Dolcetto d'Alba. This is an especially generous vintage for the estate’s Dolcetto, a wine that impresses for its intensity and balance. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012. The 2009 vintage yielded two entry-level wines at Prunotto that far exceed their usual level.A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

If you’re not familiar with the tastes and character of the Dolcetto grape, this widely available expression by Prunotto is typical in its bright array of wild berry and black fruit aromas. The wine is young, fresh and generous in its youthful flavors.——M.L.(9/1/2010)—— 87