Today we’re getting a jump on the holidays by giving you the gift of Ronchi, whose Barbaresco isn’t merely one of the greatest values in its category, but one of the best fine wine values in the world. This 2016 is powerful, profound, structured for long aging, and truly a dying breed in modern-day Piedmont, where single-vineyard Barbarescos are (rightly) fetching ever-higher prices—they’re comparable to the greatest Premier/Grand Cru wines of Burgundy, and are beginning to reflect that.
Along with the legendary Produttori del Barbaresco co-op, however, Ronchi has been a holdout in this revered wine zone, a fixture on the scene for generations, and today’s ’16 has another added benefit: It hails from a vintage critic Antonio Galloni dubbed “truly magnificent” and “potentially historic.” Just take a moment and attempt to catalog the number of world-class, critically acclaimed, cellar-worthy red wines that can be had for $45. I’ll bet the farm it’s a short list, and if Ronchi isn’t yet on yours, I couldn’t be more confident that it will be after experiencing this ’16. Some occasions call for something a little better; this wine enables you to have more of them, while also providing an affordable gift option that is guaranteed to impress. It’s a can’t-miss, must-have, perennial all-star of a wine!
The Ronchi property is based in the village of Barbaresco, with the family home and cellar perched atop the ‘cru’ vineyard of the same name (for the Italian wine experts out there, the “Ronchi” cru is bordered by “Montestefano” to the north and “Moccagatta” to the south). This amphitheater-shaped vineyard, in which the vines average 30-40 years of age, has a southeastern aspect and runs up to the border with the village of Neive to the east. The Rocca family has been in this spot for four generations, and today winemaker Giancarlo Rocca presides over about 7 hectares (16 acres). Working without any pesticides or herbicides, Rocca is also a traditionalist in the cellar, aging his wines in the large, Slavonian oak vats known as botti and bottling his wines unfined and unfiltered.
For the “Ronchi” single-vineyard bottling, fermentation is carried out in stainless steel and the wine is aged for two years in a mix of tank, large Slavonian casks, and some French oak barrels. One of the hallmarks of the 2016 vintage is balance; it was a long, even growing season, with harvest stretching well into October, allowing the Nebbiolo grapes to develop exceptional levels of polyphenolic maturity. The result is a wine of exceptional aromatic complexity and deep, brooding power: With enough air, it is plenty delicious to drink now but I think the real sweet spot is still a few years away. In the glass, it’s a luminous garnet-red with crimson and pink reflections, with an appealingly woodsy aromatic profile: scents of black cherry, red currant, and orange peel are overlain with dried rose petal, licorice, herbs, leather, potting soil, and underbrush. It is medium-plus in body and quite muscular by Barbaresco standards, so give it about an hour in a decanter before serving at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems (and, as I noted in a previous Ronchi offer, don’t be at all surprised if this bottle is better on day two, should you find yourself with an unfinished bottle). There’s a touch of rusticity here that makes me crave food with a little fat and a little char—I’m thinking some non-spicy pork sausages and roasted potatoes off the grill, ideally enjoyed al fresco as an early evening chill starts to set in. This really is a stellar value for an eminently cellar-worthy wine. Do not miss it!
