Wine Advisor
Roagna, Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti 2013
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The Asili vineyard was purchased in 1961, and today the youngest vines are 80 years old. This is the central part of the cru, or what Luca Roagna calls the most "classic" part of the vineyard site. In a series of three old-vine Barbaresco expressions, ordered according to growing level of intensity, the 2013 Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti is the first wine we tasted together. The bouquet here is nuanced and delicate with an evident mineral signature that is followed by ever-increasing—but extremely elegant throughout—berry fruit and blue flower aromas. The wine covers the palate fully, remaining light, firm and tense throughout. The Roagna family traces its genetic roots to Barbaresco (as opposed to Barolo) and these wines are of enormous symbolic importance to them. Consequently, they are a point of pride among those who so passionately collect them and put them aside to age in their cellars.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2013 Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti is a promising wine, but readers will have to be patient, as there is little of the charm that makes Asili so alluring. Firm and unyielding, the 2013 is going to need time to fully settle down, but it has terrific depth and persistence to burn. Time in the glass brings out the wine's inner sweetness, but the 2013 is a wine to bury deep in the corner of the cellar. Hints of rosewater, orange peel, cinnamon and amaro herbs grace the beguiling finish. What a pretty wine this is.
About the Producer
The fine estate of Roagna has long roots in the commune of Barbaresco, having been started very early in the twentieth century by Vincenzo Roagna. Vincenzo passed on the reigns to his son Giovanni Roagna, who in his turn saw his son Alfredo succeed him as the head of the estate. Today the property is run by Luca Roagna, the fifth generation of the family. Luca was born in 1980 and succeeded to winemaking for the property soon after his graduation from oenological school in 2001. The style of the estate’s wines has been carefully passed down through all five generations of Roagna family, with the wines made in a very traditional and classic style. These are deep, complex and structured wines that are built to age and handsomely reward cellaring. The heart of the Roagna estate is its six and a half hectares of vineyards in the commune of Barbaresco, most of these lying in the fine cru of Pajè. From the Pajè vineyard the Roagna family now makes three distinct cuvées, a Barbaresco “normale” labeled as Barbaresco “Pajè,” a Barbaresco Paje Vecchie Vite and “Crichët Pajè" - made from the crest of the Paje cru. In 1989 the family’s long-held aspirations of owning top level crus in Barolo comparable to their Pajè holdings in Barbaresco came true, when they purchased a parcel historically known as La Rocche e La Pira, in the fabled village of Castiglione Falletto. The vinification techniques at Roagna are still traditional though Luca has made noteworthy improvements and changes to the process. The fermentations are in cask and the macerations have gone from around thirty days to, on average, 60-90 days. The aging regimen depends a bit on the cru and vintage but go from 2-3 years to sometimes 8-10 and as much as 15-16 years for the Riserva, part of which is in cement. Luca has also switched all of their oak to the highest quality French oak that is 10cm thick – twice the thickness of a standard cask. These casks allow for a very slow and micro-oxygenation which adds to the elegance of the finished wines. In addition to their fine Barbaresco and Barolo bottlings, the property also makes a Langhe Rosso cuvée from “younger Nebbiolo vines” which in Luca’s case are under 25 years – hardly young by other producers’ standards. He also produces a chewy and intensely flavored Dolcetto, and a white wine that is a blend of 75-80% chardonnay and 20-25% Nebbiolo (vinified without the skins) which they label as Langhe Bianco Solea. The Langhe Bianco Solea is held for three years prior to release by the winery, and is a medium-full, fresh and pure white that typically offers up an aromatic blend of pear, flowers, a touch of honey and pastry cream. All of the estate’s wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
