One develops, over time, a preference for precision. Thus, the journey to righteousness and the True Path to Eternal Bliss for many wine lovers ends when they land on Nebbiolo.

It’s not about ostentation nor volume. It’s precision. The quiet authority of something made properly, all components resting in the right place, without compromise or theatrics. This Barbaresco from Fratelli Grasso is a good example and the 2016, a classic vintage if there’s ever been one, it defines that principle.

Barbaresco, of course, is often compared to Barolo, and although Barolo usually costs more, the distinction is less about hierarchy and more about temperament. Barolo can be (some say “should be”) formidable and brooding. Built like a fortress, requiring patience and, at times, resolve. “Tar and roses” and “iron fist in a velvet glove” are the usual descriptors. Barbaresco, by contrast, operates with a certain fluency. The same Nebbiolo grape, the same underlying structure, but grown in a nearby town and delivered with a lighter step. Kinder, gentler, quicker to reveal its intentions, letting you get back to your dinner conversation after the initial awe.

The nose is composed, not exuberant. Rose petal, certainly, though dried and slightly shadowed. Restrained red cherry. Then the more telling notes begin to emerge. Orange peel. A trace of anise. Something faintly earthen, like turned soil after rain. In the old days, one admired Barbaresco more than one enjoyed them. That approach has evolved maintaining the inherent rusticity while adding some sheen.

Producers such as Grasso have not abandoned tradition but have refined it. Extraction is measured and controlled. Oak is handled with discretion rather than as an ambition to “make a statement.” The Piedmontese structure remains intact, but the edges have been considered. The result is a wine that speaks clearly of its origin while permitting access within your lifetime. A civilized conversation, rather than an interrogation or an outright surrender.

On the palate, the tannins are present, as they must be, but they are tailored. Firm, precise, and integrated into the architecture of the wine. Acidity carries the line forward, lending both energy and direction. The fruit is red toned, slightly tart, disciplined. It yields ground to savory notes as the wine opens, revealing a more complex interior. Texture is important to this wine. Dust and silk, as it should be.

The 2016 vintage was one of patience and balance, allowing Nebbiolo to achieve full phenolic ripeness without excess. It is a classic vintage that rewards restraint in the cellar, and this wine, with 10 years since harvest, benefits from that restraint. The Grassos are in the commune of Trieso, the highest section of Barbaresco, and the Vallegrande vineyard site is on gently rolling slopes, unusual in a region known for vineyards hanging on for dear life because they’re planted on ultra-steep slopes. It’s all part of the wine mosaic that is par for the course in northern Italy.

This Grasso Vallegrande Barbaresco is, in essence, a study in duality. One foot in the past supporting structure, transparency, and a fidelity to place that cannot be mistaken. The other foot is rooted in the present, with a recognition that pleasure need not be deferred for decades to be legitimate.

We Americans tend to want to have this with a thick steak or prime rib. Maybe a pork roast if we’re feeling experimental, or a plate of hand-rolled pasta covered with thin slices of white truffles if you’re feeling flush. All good, but my recommendation would be to instead, enjoy a bottle of Barbera or Dolcetto with the meat and save the Grasso Barbaresco for the cheese course. Toma Piedmontese is a local (and surprisingly available elsewhere) cow’s milk cheese that lets the wine shine. Robiola is a soft goat milk cheese from the region, and it too sings along with the wine as if they were recreating the memorably harmonious tones of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, Sonny & Cher, and if you listen real closely, even Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Liza Minelli.