Roagna Langhe Rosso, Piedmont, Italy 2019

Roagna is one of Piedmont’s most revered traditional wineries, a fifth-generation family estate rooted in the hills of Barbaresco and Barolo. Led today by Luca Roagna, the domaine is known for its uncompromising commitment to purity, biodiversity, and old-vine Nebbiolo. The vineyards—most famously Pajè, Asili, Montefico, and the Barolo monopole Pira—are farmed with minimal intervention to preserve the natural balance of each site. In the cellar, Roagna follows a slow, classical approach: indigenous yeasts, long submerged-cap fermentations, and extended aging in large neutral oak casks. The result is a collection of wines that are deeply expressive, structured, and profoundly tied to their terroir, offering some of the most soulful and age-worthy expressions of Barbaresco and Barolo produced today.

" Luca Roagna likes to joke that this is the worst wine he makes. "It is made with all the leftovers," he says. The 2019 Langhe Rosso sees Nebbiolo from Barolo and Barbaresco, pretty much in equal parts. There is some Pira and Pajè along with young vine fruit from other parcels, some of which suffered mudslide damage in the 1990s and required replanting. This wine was first produced in 2000. The labor required to make it is intense because Luca needs to scope out the young vines buried within a rich patrimony of old vines. "I am a squarehead," he says. This entry-level wine is a provocation. In fact, it could technically be classified as Barolo or Barbaresco if it were not a blend of the two appellations. It sees the same five-year winemaking and oak aging regime as those wines. The 2019 vintage shows good concentration, balanced acidity and a firm backbone. There's a lot of fresh fruit here with pressed flowers and roses." Wine Advocate 94