Brett happens

Dolcetto d’Alba 2010, Enzo Boglietti ($20.20, 10856726)
100% Dolcetto. Fermented with native yeasts for seven days in temperature-controlled vats with punching down and pumping over several times a day. Matured for nine months in a mixture of French oak barrels and stainless steel vats. 14% ABV.
Violets, earth, plum and blackberry, a whiff of alcohol. Not expressive at first but opening up. The velvety fruit – lightened by acidity, darkened by a slatey, bitter undertow – cloaks the light but firm tannins. Perceptible in the added sweetness and vanilla note, the oak doesn’t get in the way. Long and pure. Modern but well made and tasty. (Buy again? Maybe.)

Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2007, Scudetto, Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio ($24.60, 11472361)
100% Barbera from 60- to 70-year-old vines. Floating-cap fermentation for 15-20 days. Matured in used French oak barrels for around 18 months. 14.5% ABV.
Clay, dried herbs, tar and blackberry/black cherry. Soft, round and a bit heavy on the palate, with somber fruit and dark minerals. The weighty feel is balanced only partially by acidity. Light tannins and some alcoholic heat (though not as much as you might expect) come to the fore on the rustic finish. A somewhat glum wine that I found myself respecting more than loving. (Buy again? Maybe in a less ripe vintage.)

Dolcetto d’Alba 2011, Fratelli Alessandria ($19.35, 11580186)
100% Dolceto from vines averaging 18 years of age. Manually harvested. Fermented six to eight days in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Matured six to eight months in stainless steel and cement vats. Unfiltered and unfined. The must is dosed with a little sulphur dioxide, as is the finished wine at bottling. 13% ABV.
Floral (dried rose?), cherry, currant, slate. A fluid and tart middleweight. Bright red and black berries with some earthy/slatey undertones and a bittersweet streak. Light tannins provide a little rasp, while a lingering sourness takes the finish into lip-smacking territory. A leaner, more traditionally styled Dolcetto than the Boglietti, and all the better for it. The pizza wine par excellence. (Buy again? Yep.)

Barbera d’Alba 2010, Punset ($20.70, 10985747)
100% organically farmed Barbera. Manually harvested. Gently pressed and fermented on the skins. Aged in stainless steel vats for several months. 13.5% ABV.
Spicy plum, graphite, earth, funk. Medium-bodied with a velvety texture, pure fruit, a hint of smoke and tar, light tannins and lots of acidity. Good clean finish. An honest and unadorned Barbera not without appeal. (Buy again? Sure.)