2014 Roagna, Barbaresco DOCG “Pajè” Piemonte, Italy.
The glorious, dusty ruby/brick hued, earthy and delicate 2014 Pajè cru Barbaresco by Roagna provided a thinking person’s reward in the glass after a few hours in the decanter and honestly drank as beautifully and silken as the best of Burgundies do, but there’s no doubt about what grape and where this wine was born, with lovely savory red fruited Nebbiolo shining through on the textural medium bodied palate. These Roagna wines are rare treats, I haven’t even had many, and especially not one that I could spend an evening studying, so I’m very grateful to my friend Alex Lallos, who visited the Langhe in April and recently shared some of his favorites, including this Pajè, which even in a lighter vintage was absolutely joyous and sublime on the night. This wine lifted from the glass with incense, dried rose, leather, pipe tobacco and reduced and briery red berries that all transferred smoothly to the palate, adding there a core of cherry fruit, hints of grilled herbs, burnt orange, mineral detail, cedar and tarry licorice. Again, there’s an elegance and delicacy that is heavenly, that could only be a Barbaresco. The Pajè cru, in the Roagna family since 1953, enjoys, what Luca Roagna says is a southerly, south-westerly exposure, (a) natural amphitheater that situated at 230 meters above sea level, and it is characterized by its calcareous marl soil with a unique higher content of active limestone. The Pajè, produces perfect balance and ripeness of grapes, due to its location, on hillsides open to the Tanaro river valley, which mitigates of the cold winters and especially the heat of the increasingly hot summers, which explains the quality found here in this exceptional 2014. This experience came with real time comparison of other Barbaresco and Barolo offerings, which were serious and delicious in their own right, but it helped define the quality of this Roagna Pajè and I look forward to exploring more from this highly coveted producer.
Luca and Alfredo Roagna winemakers, at Roagna, have reached what corners of the wine press calls “Cult” status and make some of the most sought after Nebbiolo wines, which are noted for being authentic and traditional, these are wines of no pretense soulful charm, non flashy and wonderful age worthy. All the Roagna offerings are true Piedmontese wines, coming from only native varieties, and are interesting, as they have succeed in both Barbaresco and Barolo, but making each place their own, similar tho the legendary Bruno Giacosa. Roagna has prime parcels in Barbaresco and Castiglione Falletto, with separate Cantinas in both spots, which shows the commitment to the individual environment of these regions, even though the close proximity to each other. Roagna is fiercely proud of their historic and old vineyard sites and focus on these massale selection vines, which they farm with sustainable and organic methods to keep these special plots in fine health, to allow them to show off their best character from the soil to the glass. For the winemaking, the Roagna’s are passionate about this classic single cru bottling and only around 600 cases are made from this vineyard each year and they want to to be terroir expressive, relying on non intervention methods while handing these grapes. The Roagna’s employ a a de-stemmed fermentation which takes place exclusively in wooden vats using a pied de cuve (from the Pajè vineyard itself) made from the indigenous yeasts. Primary continues for about ten days and then the ancient, submerged cap (of skins and solids) maceration technique is applied, that lasts close to 3 months. Then the wine is matured a long time in neutral oak and concrete vats for about five years before bottling and eventual release. Nebbiolo lovers need to put Roagna on their bucket list and especially this Pajè Barbaresco, though I wouldn’t overlook anything in the lineup here!
($169 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive