Saturday, August 15, 2009

Friday Night Volume 2: Dolcetto Wine Room

Dolcetto Wine Room, I heart you. Cameron at Dolcetto, I heart you. Best time ever at Dolcetto. We drank DELICIOUS wines, received excellent and thoughtful service, and an absolute smorgasbord of information from a true wine expert.

So, after Zebra, we decided to swing over to Dolcetto in search of the aforementioned Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We took a seat and immediately asked about it, and Cameron (who is the wine director, and our server for the evening) told us that they don't carry it because there's just not much of a draw for it in Charlotte. So we all kind of looked at each other with a stupefied "what do we do now?" face....and Cameron said, Ladies. I'll take care of you. Don't you worry about a thing. He reappeared 30 seconds later with a 2 oz pour of Liberalia Tempranillo, which he said was his favorite international wine in the store. YUM. It was so good. It had a deep, rich flavor - not as bright as some tempranillos. Deep dark fruits, like plum almost. Cameron informed us that this wine comes from the Toro region of Spain, which is "hot as shit", and that the grapes grow so low to the ground that they hire midgets to pick them. If that is not blogworthy, then I don't know what is.

Next up: Peter Lehmann Cabernet from Australia. This was Kristen's favorite wine of the night, I believe. I really liked it - not love - but it was great. Very fruity, not as spicy/woody as Cali Cabs, but just very pleasing to the palette. Cameron told us that he lived in Australia for several years, working in the wine industry and earning a degree in wine chemistry (I believe). This guy knows his shizzle.

Round 3: Fog Bank Cabernet (I think it was Fog Bank. I took notes, and all I wrote was Fog=yum). At any rate, we called this the California Cab the entire night, and it was fabulous. Brianna, who I consider a wine goddess by the way, thought it smelled like raw green pepper. I definitely smelled and tasted the spice. It was so balanced and tasty, but still bold and appropriately fruity.

Fourth Round, and feeling good by this point. Keep in mind we have been drinking red wine for literally hours now. Vittico Chianti. This one was really nice - we weren't as enthused about this one compared to the others, but it was good. It had a deep flavor, smelled like leather, and had heavy tannins...pretty light on the fruit flavor, mostly dry and earthy.

Fifth Round. Yes there was a fifth round. And this was the best round, IMHO. Chilean Merlot. Luis Felipe Edwards. WOW. This was just perfect for me. One sip and I was hooked. It was fruity and bold and spicy, but balanced. It was a delicious burst of flavor in my mouth - perfect amount of tannins, amazing dark flavor, I mean OMG. Cameron helpfully informed me that this wine was very affordable, and I said "well then I simply must have a bottle." He materialized a moment later with the bottle bagged up for me. Look at me all giddy and purple-toothed:



Note to readers: Cameron stated that all Chilean wine is bangin right now. Well, that is my paraphrasing. He said you literally can't go wrong. Just go for it. I plan to.

Okay last up - a taste of Justin Cabernet for our wine girl Brianna. Spectacular. I took a tiny sip, and that simply has to be one of the best wines I've ever had. That's all I can say about that.

So....think about it. We had SIX pours, thoughtfully recommended by our sommelier for the evening, delivered with all the info we would ever want to know about each. We felt like special customers, and I truly got the impression that he enjoyed "geeking out" with us. And when we got the bill, we were pleasantly surprised. I wont divulge numbers, but let's just say he took care of us, and of course we took care of him as well - much deserved. I have nothing but fabulous things to say about Dolcetto Wine Room and Cameron. Please stop by and tell him that he was highly recommended by the Charlotte Wine Girl. Also, check out his blog The Daily Wine Buzz.

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