Briccolero is one of the flagship wines of the Chionetti winery. Dogliani DOCG, it is made from pure Dolcetto grapes from the family vineyards. Briccolero," reads the winery's website, "represents the vineyards on the south-east side of the property, within the historic cru San Luigi, in the municipality of Dogliani. A wine of tradition, this Dolcetto reaches perfect ripeness in September. Harvesting is strictly by hand, with careful selection of the best bunches, while vinification is traditional and accurate. In this case, however, cement tanks are used for the subsequent ageing phase. In all, it takes about a year from the harvest until the wine is ready to be put on sale. As is customary for this company, Briccolero is not filtered before bottling. The colour is very intense, almost violet, and the nose has clear notes of black berry fruit and balsamic and spicy hints. In the mouth, on the other hand, it has good acidity and tannins in clear evidence but well matured. Excellent throughout a meal, this is the red wine to open when the season calls for mushrooms. Try it, for example, with a stew or polenta.