Winemaker Notes
Pasta with meat sauce, medium sesoned cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blueberries and hot stones follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh and vivid finish with lovely chocolate and hazelnuts. Clean and refined throughout.
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Wine Enthusiast
romas of iris, rose red berry and baking spice lead the way. On the full-bodied but seemingly weightless palate, firm close-grained tannins support dried morello cherry, licorice and clove alongside a savory, almost salty note. Drink 2020–2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Barbaresco Ronchi is driven by dark and succulent fruit. Aromas of blackberry, dried cherry, spice, tobacco and smoke come together in seamless fashion. The wine offers intensity and power, all lavished over an accessible and velvety mouthfeel. You especially taste the warm vintage on the finish with cherry confit and blackberry preserves.
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Wine Spectator
A mix of sweet cherry, licorice and tar flavors, backed by dense tannins, this red has all the elements in the right proportions but will require time for them to come into balance. Fine length. Best from 2022 through 2038.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.