Wine Advisor
Roagna, Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The jump up in aromatic intensity is incredible once you start tasting from Roagna's line of Vecchie Vite, or old-vine wines. The 2014 Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti is a soft and enormously supple expression that shows beautifully integrated tannins, fruit and acidity. There is a note of sweet summer cherry that you notice first, duly followed by wild rose, candied orange peel and crushed stone. Fruit is drawn from a quarter-hectare site that has been farmed by the Roagna family since 1961, and the vines are more than 80 years old. The fruit is slightly more concentrated here, as is expected of old vines, and so is the acidity. Beautiful menthol notes add to that balanced freshness. The production numbers are very precious with only 1,200 bottles made.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti is endowed with striking inner sweetness and the pure raciness that is the single most important Asili signature. Kirsch, hard candy, mint, blood orange, pomegranate and mint. Medium in body and yet wonderfully resonant, the 2014 captures all the best the vintage has to offer. It is a ridiculously beautiful wine. In a word: stunning!
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.
