Wine Advisor
Roagna, Barolo Pira 2013
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Description
Roagna, Barolo, La Pira, Piedmont, Italy, Still, Red, 2011
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2013 Barolo Pira is dark and powerful to its core. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2013 is all nerves and muscle. Iron, blood, smoke, cedar, smoke and licorice give the 2013 much of its super-distinctive flavor profile. In the glass, the 2013 is wonderfully deep and exotic, with layers of dimension that open up effortlessly over time. Readers will have to be patient with the 2013, but it is hugely promising. Sadly, prices for the Roagna wines have gone up dramatically in recent years. If there is one wine that readers should absolutely not miss, it is the 2013 Barolo Pira.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2013 Barolo Pira sees fruit sourced from a five-hectare plot (with 16,800 bottles made). The Pira vineyard is Roagna’s home-base parcel and is the biggest single vineyard the family cultivates in the Barolo appellation. Pira is easy to recognize in terms of bouquet, thanks to those distinctive aromas of dried rose petal and balsam herb that lift gently from the bouquet. Due to long maceration times, which are the norm here at Roagna, the wine’s color shows medium intensity, but that color should be fixed and stable over the long haul because any remaining material in suspension has since fallen out, thanks to the slow fermentation process. This wine delivers evident structure and a touch of rawness or naked nerve that underlines the wine’s young age (and, consequently, its long future aging potential). Dark fruit and a touch of sweet spice add volume to the finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2013 Barolo Pira is dark and powerful to its core. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2013 is all nerves and muscle. Iron, blood, smoke, cedar, smoke and licorice give the 2013 much of its super-distinctive flavor profile. In the glass, the 2013 is wonderfully deep and exotic, with layers of dimension that open up effortlessly over time. Readers will have to be patient with the 2013, but it is hugely promising. Sadly, prices for the Roagna wines have gone up dramatically in recent years. If there is one wine that readers should absolutely not miss, it is the 2013 Barolo Pira.
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.
