Wine Advisor
Roagna, Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti 2014
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Description
Roagna, Barbaresco, Montefico VV, Piedmont, Italy, Still, Red, 2010
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
You can almost feel that inner engine revving as this wine opens in the glass. The Roagna 2014 Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti is perhaps the most focused and structured in this series. The Montefico vineyard in Barbaresco is characterized by calcareous clay soils with gray and blue marl. The vines are more than 90 years old, and this site has been farmed by the Roagna family since 1929. Montefico ripens last, allowing the grapes to benefit from long phenolic maturity. Thanks to these various factors, the bouquet is packed with plum, dark cherry, blue flower, campfire smoke and cured tobacco. There is a point of fleeting sweetness on the close followed by rich fiber and lasting spice or balsam herb. Those flavors linger on the palate for an extremely long time. A mere 1,195 bottles were produced.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2014 Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti is laser-like in its focus. Then again, we are talking about Montefico. Linear and driven in feel, the 2014 is going to appeal most to readers who like super-classic, austere wines. Montefico is nervous on its own, but in this cold vintage it is especially tight. I can't wait to taste it with bottle age. Tobacco, dried cherry, crushed flowers, cedar, orange peel, anise, sage, and mint give the 2014 a decidedly earthy, savory feel to play off the super-persistent, long and utterly brilliant finish.
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.
