Ronchi, Barbaresco DOCG

I often say that I’d drink Barbaresco and Barolo more often if I could afford it—somehow forgetting that Ronchi’s Barbaresco is out there, beckoning me, delivering the Nebbiolo goods year in and year out at an incredible price. Over the years, I waved in countless cases of Ronchi at restaurants like Babbo in New York and Quince in San Francisco, because it is the ideal ‘sweet spot’ wine: a pitch-perfect example of type at a price even an Italian wine neophyte will recognize as a serious bargain.This year, with today’s ’16, I’m finally going to wake up and grab a case for myself. Why shouldn’t I drink at the highest level all the time? I think I deserve it, and so do you. This is everything one could ask for in classically styled, artisanal Barbaresco—all the aromatic intrigue, powerful structure, and earthy complexity the Nebbiolo grape is famous for, already delicious but poised to get even better over the next 10+ years. It deserves a place among the greatest-value wines in Barbaresc