Just to the east of the village of Barbaresco, there is a great amphitheater. It forms a semicircle of slopes, like a horseshoe, with its prongs facing west towards the village.
Just to the east of the village of Barbaresco, there is a great amphitheater. It forms a semicircle of slopes, like a horseshoe, with its prongs facing west towards the village.
Enter the valley of the amphitheater and you are in the center of greatness. Look to your north and you see the Cru of Montestefano, known for its dark and powerful Nebbiolo, facing south into the center of the amphitheater. To the south you will catch a glimpse of Rabajà, which produces some of Barbaresco's most regal wines, and also cool Muncagota, facing directly north into the valley and producing red-fruited wines.
At the end of the valley to the east, you will see a farmhouse, with west-facing slopes rising above it. That is the home of Giancarlo Rocca, and many of the vines on those slopes are his. You are looking at the Cru of Ronchi.
So tied are the Roccas to this plot of land that their winery, in fact, is also named Ronchi, or more completely, Azienda Agricola Ronchi. Using traditional and organic methods, they make a straight Barbaresco, we think from the younger vines on the hill, and also their masterpiece: a single-vineyard designated Barbaresco simply called Ronchi.
