2025 Protero Dolcetto

Stephen Pannell’s Protero label has always been about translating the grapes of Northern Italy through the lens of the Adelaide Hills. For Pannell, Dolcetto isn't a lesser cousin to Nebbiolo - it's a daily staple, a style he openly admits to drinking at home more often than almost anything else.

The fruit comes from a tiny, 0.7-hectare west-facing parcel known as Block 9 in the Kenton Valley, bordered by a chestnut grove. A dry spring and warm summer in 2025 pushed the harvest a few weeks early, creating a flawless, disease-free window for late-ripening varieties before the fruit was hand-picked in mid-March.

The goal is purely about capturing that pristine fruit energy. The grapes spent fourteen days on skins in stainless steel with daily pump-overs, then were gently pressed off to extra-large French oak puncheons. It rested there for just three months before bottling in early 2026.

The style here is wonderfully fleshy and exuberant, leaning away from heavy extraction and toward bright, immediate joy. Think crushed dark berries, tart bramble, and a dusting of baking spice, all wrapped up in shifting, chalky tannins that grip and then melt away. You could overthink it, but the best move is to follow Langhe tradition: crack it young, pour it generously, and park it next to a plate of braised beef cheeks.