2006 Renato Ratti - Barolo Rocche

The 2006 Barolo Rocche is the most nuanced of these wines. Sweet, floral aromatics lead to richly textured core of fruit that is supported by well-balanced French oak. This is a ligher, more refined style than the Conca, but the wine possesses an extra degree of finesse and elegance. The silky tannins for which this vineyard is so famous are in full evidence. Ratti gave the Rocche a year in French oak followed by a second year in larger Slovenian oak casks. Ratti's 2006 Rocche is an exceptional Barolo in this vintage.

The 2006 Barolo Rocche is the most nuanced of these wines. Sweet, floral aromatics lead to a richly textured core of fruit that is supported by well-balanced French oak. This is a lighter, more refined style than the Conca, but the wine possesses an extra degree of finesse and elegance. The silky tannins for which this vineyard is so famous are in full evidence. Ratti gave the Rocche a year in French oak followed by a second year in larger Slovenian oak casks. Ratti’s 2006 Rocche is an exceptional Barolo in this vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031. Importer: Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770

Good medium red. Deep, complex aromas and flavors of blackberry, mocha and minerals, with a suggestion of almost liqueur-like ripeness leavened by a distinctly sappy quality. Broad and sweet but with excellent underlying structure. As youthfully backward as this is, it's pliant from the outset. Finishes with broad, sweet tannins and lovely persistence. Ratti notes that the crop level here was in the range of just 30 hectoliters per hectare: he told me he cut off virtually half of the clusters in the second half of August. These 2006s weigh in at about 14.5% alcohol.