Case of 12, $240/$20 per bottle

Unfortunately for us, Ca’ del Baio is no longer the best-kept secret in Barbaresco it once was.  The news, thanks to their rave reviews, the annual visits of the PRIMA gang and the profiling of the Grasso sisters in Suzanne Hoffman’s excellent book ‘Labor of Love,’ is definitely out!  But, no matter, the Grassos are still some of the nicest people in all of the Langhe and their wines among the region’s most compelling. With four generations of family knowhow and over 30 vintages behind it, Ca’ del Baio is no Johnny-come-lately to the Barbaresco scene, and with holdings in vineyards like Asili and Pora in the Barbaresco zone and a wonderful spot on the backside of Vallegrande in Treiso, the current generations of the Grasso family, Giulio, Luciana and their three savvy daughters, are important landholders and winemakers, no matter how you look at it.  The family home and cellar are not too far from the tiny hamlet of Treiso, the smallest and least-visited of the three major Barbaresco villages, and the easiest to miss if you’re driving through the area.  The vineyards that fan out from this little town are vertiginous in the extreme and only sparsely covered with the kind of sandy, marly soils that create the most structured, longest lived Nebbiolos in the entire Barbaresco zone.  In order to keep quality high on the Barbaresco-labeled wines that pay the bills here, the Grassos declassify a portion of the younger vines to create one of the most lovely Langhe Nebbiolos we have in the store- the so-called Red Label- Ca’ del Baio’s signature Baio, or bay horse, in vivid crimson!  There aren’t many wines of this type we know that can pack so much juicy flavor into a bottle for around $20 these days.  In fact, with many Langhe Nebbiolos know cracking the $40 or even $50 threshold, a wine of this quality with this much flair seems all the more amazing!  Dark and really snappy, the fresh cherries and macerated raspberries just jump out of the glass, as does Nebbiolo’s native floral and spice notes.  Though there’s a core of nicely defined fruit there, it’s a wine nicely weighted towards the lighter, more aromatic side of the grape making it perfectly suited for duty as a house red alongside everything from Mac and Cheese to Burgers or Pork Chops off the grill.  I particularly love this wine a little cooler than cellar temperature either on its own while I am in the kitchen cooking, or with a platter of smoked meats and cheeses.  The Grassos themselves often serve it with Luciana’s tajarin al sugo, and there’s nothing wrong with that either!  Really, a case is not enough!