-
Thanks for the info! We bought it on our honeymoon to Napa & Sonoma a couple of years back, because I remember enjoying a bottle of it in the past. We usually drink late harvest and ice wines from nearby Niagara, but we don't age them any more than a couple of years. I figured since the Dolce was more of a Sauternes-type wine, it might go a bit longer.
-
maria lorraine
Nov 7, 2010 11:31 PM
I've probably drunk a hundred bottles of Dolce, and I've just read the Cellartracker.com reviews for the 2003 vintage. I'd probably hold in to it for a couple or three more years, so it develops those deep apricot, fig and almond flavors.
Go here to read the reviews and check out the reviews for the other vintages as well to get an idea of how many years Dolce takes to develop its full flavor potential.
http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?table=Notes&Vintage=2003&szSearch=dolce+napa
You can also call the winery (Dolce Winery is housed on the same property as Far Niente) at 707-944-8868, or go to the winery website at http://www.dolcewine.com, and ask the winery how they think the 2003 is drinking. (It was an atypical harvest in Napa Valley as well as in Europe that year, so the Dolce may be atypical -- picked when the sugar was high but perhaps a bit early for full physiological flavor ripeness.) In a good year, Dolce very much resembles some Sauternes or Barsac. I love stickies.
-
Merchant comments say "will continue to develop its bottle bouquet and be enjoyable for years to come". Which is pretty much equivalent with the "riveting" comments for a mediocre movie, or the real estate's "cozy" attribute for a lousy apartment.
More to the point in my view ( I never had Dolce ) are the cellartracker's crowd notes:
"Fair, but no Sauternes"
"Not complex "
"not nearly enough acidity"
"not terribly complex"
...
http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp...Based on all of the above, I'd say: drink now.
