Rizzi, Barbaresco, Rizzi, 2016
Opening a good Barbaresco is like pulling out drawer after drawer of an old wood cabinet full of spices and dry flowers. It’s like opening the door into the summer of childhood.
Rizzi used to be imported by Yaffo Tel Aviv, then there was a gap of a few years. Now it’s back, with a different importer. WineWise, bless their souls. I love Rizzi but I get the feeling it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. That means it doesn’t command the prices it deserves. It’s more expensive than it was the first time around, but still undervalued. My journey in the wines of Piedmont started out as mere appreciation. The reason it turned to outright love was wines like this one, with its complex, intoxicating bouquet of dry red cherries, dried roses, truffles and spices, as well as a mesmerizing balance of power and delicacy on the palate.
Treiso, where the Rizzi cru and winery are both located, is supposed to be the most Barolo-like of the Barbaresco terroirs, and this wine proves that, as it becomes darker and more powerful after a few hours of air.
2016 is a great vintage, so it's counter-intuitive that wines like this are so approachable. I think 2016 has such balanced, deep fruit, that even when the wines shut down, the fruit remains strong and present, like the muscles of a well trained athlete on a break between seasons. This wine is so great that I really need to stock up on as much as I can. Like I wrote, Rizzi is still relatively undervalued, so in 2016, it's a no-brainer for the cellar.
PS. Kerin O'Keefe praised Rizzi's 2017 crus just as highly. It's worth keeping that in mind, as prices for 2017 will be lower.
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