Pavi Napa Valley 2005 Dolcetto 4-Pack
$67.99 $̶1̶1̶5̶.̶7̶6̶ 41% off List Price
2005 Pavi Napa Valley Dolcetto
What a coincidence, just had this wine tonight.
Nice clear red color. Smells fruity and hot. Candied cherry, strawberry, with smoke.
Tastes fruity, a little hot, medium body, no tannin, good acid. Smokey but not earthy. Short finish.
Reminds me of a pinot noir with some syrah.
Good food wine, went well with the sausage rigatoni I made.
Looks like it would be a good wine. However, I don’t understand the list price shown because at the winery link it’s $24 per bottle.
[QUOTE=aafflyer, post:4, topic:368047]
Looks like it would be a good wine. However, I don’t understand the list price shown because at the winery link it’s $24 per bottle.
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The list price now includes estimates taxes and shipping by the winery.
Winery website shows $20 for the current release ('06) and $24 for the '03 to '05. FWIW it is listed as library. Not sure if it was also released at $20 initially. Also no will call pickup from this winery, shipping only, so woot shipping is an advantage.
Because of Cesare I am a first sucker
This is another o the wines we tasted at the Chicago WOOT gathering last Friday night. I tried sooooo hard to stay up until midnight to post, but I apparently dosed off for a bit. 
I’ve not had much, if any, Dolcetto in the past, to the best of my recollection, so I have no particular memories to compare this wine to.
Nose: Funk, which I had a hard time getting past initially. Not bad funk, just….funk, which eventually dissipated with ample swirling. The nose then became a little smoky with a hint of very dark fruit (dark cherry, blackberry, maybe prune or fig). On the palate, it was mostly earthy with some leather. I didn’t pick up much fruit on the palate. I’d call it a light to medium body…tannins were quite smooth. I believe jmdavidson said the bottle had probably been open for a few hours at this point; it was not decanted. This would probably pair well with a nice Bolognese or my polenta with sausage and mushrooms.
I’ll also add the same disclaimer as I did to the previous wine tasted at the Chicago gathering: At the time of the tasting, I had been struggling with a cold/sinus issues for a few weeks, so my nose/palate may be a bit dulled.
By a random twist of fate, I also happened to have this wine tonight. Opened it for a dinner party after drinking a very rich 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and eating Filet Mignons, so that may have colored our palates a bit.
My experience with Italian varietals is minimal, so I’m a néophyte when it comes to Dolcetto.
I agree with Cesare that this wine fits more in the Pinot Noir realm (and also second the thought of Pinot Noir with some Syrah). Medium to light bodied, heavy on the cherry tones. And by cherry, I don’t want you to think cherry cola like a RRV pinot, I mean straight up cherry with the mildest undertones of licorice.
I had a difficult time reading much off the nose on this except for a light cherry and wax smell. Almost like a cherry candle.
Definitely decent acid, but it also had a bit of a bite to it. Some of my dining companions described it as bitter, but I wouldn’t go that far.
I’m curious how much more fruit would show on a younger vintage of this wine. I doubt there’d be much to gain from cellaring this any more at this point, so I’d put this in the drink soonish category.
I also agree that this is a wine that is meant to be enjoyed with food rather than solo.
[QUOTE=redwinefan, post:9, topic:368047]
snip
I’m curious how much more fruit would show on a younger vintage of this wine. I doubt there’d be much to gain from cellaring this any more at this point, so I’d put this in the drink soonish category.
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Earlier this evening, after I wrote up my notes on this I spent about 5 minutes Googling Dolcetto, just out of curiosity. It would seem that most recommend not aging…consuming fairly soon after release (at least the Italian Dolcetto from the Piedmont region). Interestingly, the Pavi website has it in their Library, vintages 1998-2005, with 2006 as theircurren t release. With 2006 as the most recent vintage (released in Novemebr 2008), I wonder if they are still making Dolcetto? I also wonder what this would have been like a bit younger…
[QUOTE=ThunderThighs, post:5, topic:368047]
The list price now includes estimates taxes and shipping by the winery.
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If that’s true, then the percent off “list” is inflated (misleading) since it doesn’t include Woot shipping. In this case it would be just under 37% off from “list”.
Why fudge the numbers? Let price be price.
I recognize that Napa isn’t Piedmont and wines will always be riper in CA - but looking at the numbers, don’t the alcohol and brix #s seem quite high for a dolcetto?
Good point, if the winery price is all in, the Woot price comparison should be all in too…although that would differ if you bought more than one offer…but my guess is most purchases are one offer, and apples should be compared to apples.
[QUOTE=woottoady, post:11, topic:368047]
If that’s true, then the percent off “list” is inflated (misleading) since it doesn’t include Woot shipping. In this case it would be just under 37% off from “list”.
Why fudge the numbers? Let price be price.
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[QUOTE=kaolis, post:13, topic:368047]
Good point, if the winery price is all in, the Woot price comparison should be all in too…although that would differ if you bought more than one offer…but my guess is most purchases are one offer, and apples should be compared to apples.
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WD has posted about this before and they actually include shipping MINUS $5 in the price so it is more apples to apples. Now there are a few assumptions about tax and shipping rates that go in but they are supposedly always erring on the low side.
Got it, thanks. I get the point of what they are doing but seems kind of messy. That being said I’ve only ordered a few things, and bottom line is everything I’ve ordered has been great and at a price I’ve been happy with.
[QUOTE=cmaldoon, post:14, topic:368047]
WD has posted about this before and they actually include shipping MINUS $5 in the price so it is more apples to apples. Now there are a few assumptions about tax and shipping rates that go in but they are supposedly always erring on the low side.
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I also tried this at the Chicago tasting last week. It did have some barnyard or old cellar smell on the initial nose. This did dissipate after a few swirls of the glass and then opened up to a red fruit and berry scent.
The initial taste did reinforce the red fruit characteristics of the nose, cranberry, cherry, etc. My issue is that this wine seemed to go bland, actually silent right in the middle and stayed quiet until a bit of bitterness and tannin came through on the end. I didn’t perceive any fennel or black fruits that I usually get with other Dolcettos I’ve had in the past.
I’m not quite getting the reference to Pinot like some of the other tasters on this board unless they are referring to sub $10 brands. I stay away from those because I don’t think of Pinot as a bargain wine. I know Dolcetto is a wine that is made for drinking young, this one just seemed to be too blase for me.
[QUOTE=woottoady, post:11, topic:368047]
If that’s true, then the percent off “list” is inflated (misleading) since it doesn’t include Woot shipping. In this case it would be just under 37% off from “list”.
Why fudge the numbers? Let price be price.
[/quote]
Couldn’t agree with u more. First time this issue has hit the regular wine woot. There was a discussion of this last week on wine woot plus.
My preference is list price vs woot price… Period. We can calculate discount!
Thanks. Not a sucker! Smart person interested in different things.
Like the sucker who makes it!
Thanks for your interest. Website is under redesign. so not up to date. We are currently selling 07 with new release 08 next month.
And a website thats cleaned up!!
Thanks. We are still making dolcetto and love it. We are down to only 9 acres in the napa valley.
We love this style of wine, keeping in mind it is a style.
We are not looking to make a light style like a Beaujolais but looking for more structure etc. Something that is age worthly.In a lot of cases dolcetto will not see new oak and released early.Not what we are looking for. If you know dolcetto think Sandrone, Giacosa.
Brix is a part of it normally we look to 23-25 brix when picking. Its an interesting wine to grow. Big clusters that we need to look for balance. Like a zin cluster.