Ada Nada Cichin Barbaresco Rombone Riserva 2019

Nebbiolo’s queen is gracing us today with a near-translucent and endlessly elegant 95-point Barbaresco Riserva from the boutique little winery of Ada Nada. Free shipping on 3 or more… yessir, yes ma’am, it’s a good day for some Nebbiolo!

The Ada Nada family estate was started in the hilly, storybook Piedmont village of Treiso in 1919 by Carlo Nada, who passed it to his son Giovanni Nada, who passed it to his son Gian Carlo Nada and his wife Ada, who passed it to their daughter Anna Lisa Nada and her husband Elvio Cazzaro in 2001 and still run the winery to this day. Family affair, through and through. As time and generations have passed, the holdings have grown from three hectares to nine, though the commitment to old vines, hand harvesting, and limited production wines has remained staunchly the same as it always was.

It’s no wonder a wine from a cru called Cichin (translating roughly to “sweetheart”) is so undeniably amiable. It is called Ada Nada’s “statement wine” and grows on 55-year-old vines on south-facing slopes, harvested only when the grapes reach supreme ripeness. Hand harvesting, destemming, crushing, and maceration takes place for 15 days, then aging in large oak barrels for 36 to 50 months, with only 200 cases produced a year.

The wine is a see-through ruby displaying enthralling aromas of red plum, orange, and bright red cherries, as the palate brings in Red Gold nectarines, lemon zest, morello cherries, mossy trees, cinnamon, and a bit of freshly poured asphalt and an ever-buzzing shadow of acidity. Its character is totally charming – yet it has an overt friendliness not always found in Nebbiolo of this youthful age. It’s something we’ll always cherish about small family producers that bring all authenticity and tradition, making wines with thought, care, and precision. Over 40% off, free shipping on 3+, and 95 points from Suckling easily seal this deal!

(P.S. We still have a few of the 2018 Riservas from Ada Nada available, a killer vertical duo if I’ve ever seen one! Get yours here.)

FOOD PAIRINGS: Anything covered in mushrooms will do very nicely here. How about perfectly puffy gnocchi with a creamy mushroom sauce? Mmm don’t mind if I do.