Roagna Paje Vecchie Viti, Barbaresco DOCG, 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.

" Asili's ace card is elegance. Montefico has especially fragrant aromas, and Pajè is distinguished by its structure. That textural richness comes from the advanced age and deep roots of 80-year-old vines. The Roagna 2019 Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti was born in an amphitheater of vines on limestone soils. The top part of the vineyard where the mineral signature is more pronounced goes to the Barbaresco Crichët Pajé, and the remaining fruit is used here. The wine shows a combination of sweetness and power with chalky tannins to close. Of the four Vecchie Viti wines (including three Barbarescos and one Barolo), this is the last wine served in the tasting. Luca Roagna makes this choice because the Pajè Vecchie Viti shows the biggest tannic structure." Wine Advocate 98