Roagna does not make wine quickly. The family works with old vines in some of Barbaresco and Barolo’s most important vineyards, follows each site separately and gives the wines years to develop before release. The current arrival is centred on the 2019 vintage, supported by Dolcetto 2023, two 2022 whites and the extraordinary 2016 Crichët Pajè.
This is a broad look at the estate. There are three very different levels of Nebbiolo, from Langhe Rosso to the individual Barbaresco and Barolo vineyards and, finally, the Vecchie Viti selections. Solea and Montemarzino show that Roagna applies the same patience to white wine, while the Dolcetto is a reminder that the family takes Piedmont’s less celebrated varieties just as seriously.
Five generations in Barbaresco and Barolo
Roagna has worked in Barbaresco since the nineteenth century. Luca Roagna now leads the estate, farming historic family vineyards in Barbaresco as well as Pira, the family’s monopole in Castiglione Falletto in Barolo.
The approach begins in the vineyard. The family preserves its own massal selections, takes cuttings from old vines rather than planting standardised clones and farms with close attention to soil life and biodiversity. Grapes are harvested by hand and selected twice before they reach the fermenting vat.
Fermentation takes place in wood with a pied de cuve prepared from indigenous yeasts. For the Barbaresco and Barolo wines, this is followed by submerged-cap maceration lasting around 60 to 70 days. Ageing is equally unhurried, taking place in large neutral oak and concrete for roughly five years. The wines are bottled with low sulphur and without fining or filtration.
The point is not to impose a single Roagna style on every wine. It is to give each vineyard enough time to show its own character.
Barbaresco and Barolo
Roagna works across two appellations and a series of individual geographical mentions, known as MGAs. The winemaking remains broadly consistent, making the differences between the vineyards easier to see.
In Barbaresco, Pajè is the family’s historic centre. Its active limestone produces structured, long-lived Nebbiolo with marked mineral tension. Albesani and Gallina lie in Neive. Albesani tends towards greater depth and structure, while the sand within Gallina’s calcareous clay contributes finesse and fragrance. Asili is represented here by a Vecchie Viti bottling from old vines in the central part of the vineyard.
In Barolo, Pira is a seven-hectare monopole in Castiglione Falletto, protected by Rocche di Castiglione above it and woodland below. The regular Pira and Vecchie Viti bottlings allow a close look at the same vineyard through different vine ages. Roagna also farms a small 0.48-hectare parcel in Rocche di Castiglione and makes Barolo di Barolo from Terlo, close to Coste and Ravera in the commune of Barolo.
The 2019 vintage
The 2019s have the structure expected of serious Nebbiolo, but they are not defined by weight. Across the range there is fragrance, freshness and unusually clear vineyard character. The wines are still young, particularly the single-vineyard and Vecchie Viti bottlings, but the balance is already apparent.
Antonio Galloni’s scores for the release range from 92 points for the Langhe Rosso and Barolo di Barolo to 99 points for Pira Vecchie Viti. Scores are not the reason to buy these wines, but they do underline the consistency of the vintage across a very wide range.
Roagna’s Dolcetto comes from vines more than fifty years old in the family’s historic vineyards. It can spend up to 100 days under a submerged cap before ageing in wood and concrete for a year. Dark cherry and plum lead into violets, herbs and bitter almond, with bright acidity and fine tannins. It is ready to drink, but considerably more serious than the category often suggests.
Made from massal-selection Nebbiolo vines up to 20 to 25 years old, which counts as young at Roagna. The wine follows the estate’s traditional method, including at least two months of submerged-cap maceration and about five years in neutral oak and concrete. Red cherry, dried rose, orange peel and earthy spice sit over fresh acidity and fine, savoury tannins.
Solea is Roagna’s long-lived white made from Chardonnay with a small portion of Nebbiolo vinified without its skins. The must is deliberately exposed to oxygen before fermentation, a traditional method that favours stability, texture and development in bottle. It then ferments with indigenous yeasts and spends around two years in neutral oak. Lemon, orchard fruit and almond lead into a savoury, saline finish.
Montemarzino is made from Timorasso grown in the Colli Tortonesi. The whole grapes spend a few hours in the press before the must is allowed to brown without added sulphur. Fermentation takes place in wood, followed by two years on the lees. It is layered and firmly structured, with lemon, white flowers, herbs, almond and a salty mineral finish. A white designed for the cellar rather than immediate aromatic impact.
Albesani is a historic vineyard in Neive, with calcareous clay and plantings dating from the 1950s through to the 1980s and 1990s. This is one of the darker, more structured Barbarescos in the release, with black cherry, rose, spice and iron before firm, finely grained tannins take over.
Gallina also lies in Neive, but its calcareous clay contains a greater proportion of sand. The result is a more fragrant and supple expression, with red cherry, flowers, anise and savoury spice over refined tannins. The 2019 has depth, but never loses the vineyard’s natural finesse.
Pajè sits in a natural amphitheatre below the family cellar in Barbaresco and has been central to Roagna since 1953. Its high proportion of active limestone gives the wine structure, mineral tension and considerable ageing potential. Red cherry, rose, blood orange and spice lead into a long, tightly drawn finish.
This comes from old vines in the central part of Asili, one of Barbaresco’s most recognised vineyards. Roagna’s parcel covers only 0.22 hectares. Calcareous clay threaded with sand gives a wine of exceptional perfume and finesse, with red cherry, rose, sweet spice and mineral detail carried by long, fine tannins.
Selected from the oldest vines in Pajè, with annual production limited to roughly 2,000 to 3,000 bottles. It intensifies the vineyard’s perfume and limestone tension without sacrificing detail. Red fruit, rose and citrus peel move into spice and deeper savoury notes, with considerable concentration held by finely etched tannins.
The fruit comes from Terlo in the commune of Barolo, close to the Coste and Ravera MGAs. It is the most immediately elegant Barolo in the range, with red cherry, rose petal, orange peel and savoury spice framed by firm, precise tannins. It offers an excellent introduction to Roagna’s Barolo wines, but still has the structure to develop in bottle.
Pira is Roagna’s monopole in Castiglione Falletto. The vineyard’s limestone, marl and sand produce a Barolo of power and detail, with dark red fruit, rose, liquorice and pronounced mineral depth over commanding, finely drawn tannins.
Roagna’s parcel covers just 0.48 hectares above Pira and was planted during the 1960s and 1970s. Calcareous clay rich in white rock and sand gives an especially lifted, mineral Barolo. Red fruit, flowers and orange peel lead into tightly defined tannins. This is a wine of precision rather than sheer weight.
The Vecchie Viti selection comes from Pira’s oldest vines, including plantings dating to 1937. Only around 2,000 to 3,000 bottles are made. The 2019 has enormous depth and authority, but remains vivid and precise, layering cherry, rose, citrus peel, spice and stone over exceptionally long tannins.
Crichët Pajè is the highest expression of Roagna’s work and one of the rarest wines made in Barbaresco. It comes from the upper rows of Pajè, where approximately 60-year-old Nebbiolo vines grow in the vineyard’s most limestone-rich soils. Production is normally around 1,000 bottles.
Fermentation is followed by an 80 to 90-day submerged-cap maceration, then at least eight years in large, neutral French oak before release. The wine began as the Roagna family’s private reserve and the first commercial vintage was 1978.
The 2016 has exceptional depth and precision, with red cherry, blood orange, rose, tobacco, spice and crushed stone held by fine, chalky tannins. Despite its concentration, it remains fresh and light on its feet. It is compelling now, but has the structure to develop for decades.
100 points, Wine Advocate.
99 points, Wine Spectator.
98+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
The three-bottle cases
The cases offer a more focused way into the release.
The Pira 3-Pack
follows Roagna’s Castiglione Falletto monopole through Pira 2019 and Pira Vecchie Viti 2019, with Solea 2022 alongside.
The New Roagna Release: Wines to Drink, Cellar and Collect
Jump right to the wines you want to look at:
Only interested in the classic range?
Only interested in Barbaresco?
Only interested in Barolo?
Only interested the rarest wine?
Only interested in mixed cases?
Roagna does not make wine quickly. The family works with old vines in some of Barbaresco and Barolo’s most important vineyards, follows each site separately and gives the wines years to develop before release. The current arrival is centred on the 2019 vintage, supported by Dolcetto 2023, two 2022 whites and the extraordinary 2016 Crichët Pajè.
This is a broad look at the estate. There are three very different levels of Nebbiolo, from Langhe Rosso to the individual Barbaresco and Barolo vineyards and, finally, the Vecchie Viti selections. Solea and Montemarzino show that Roagna applies the same patience to white wine, while the Dolcetto is a reminder that the family takes Piedmont’s less celebrated varieties just as seriously.
Five generations in Barbaresco and Barolo
Roagna has worked in Barbaresco since the nineteenth century. Luca Roagna now leads the estate, farming historic family vineyards in Barbaresco as well as Pira, the family’s monopole in Castiglione Falletto in Barolo.
The approach begins in the vineyard. The family preserves its own massal selections, takes cuttings from old vines rather than planting standardised clones and farms with close attention to soil life and biodiversity. Grapes are harvested by hand and selected twice before they reach the fermenting vat.
Fermentation takes place in wood with a pied de cuve prepared from indigenous yeasts. For the Barbaresco and Barolo wines, this is followed by submerged-cap maceration lasting around 60 to 70 days. Ageing is equally unhurried, taking place in large neutral oak and concrete for roughly five years. The wines are bottled with low sulphur and without fining or filtration.
The point is not to impose a single Roagna style on every wine. It is to give each vineyard enough time to show its own character.
Barbaresco and Barolo
Roagna works across two appellations and a series of individual geographical mentions, known as MGAs. The winemaking remains broadly consistent, making the differences between the vineyards easier to see.
In Barbaresco, Pajè is the family’s historic centre. Its active limestone produces structured, long-lived Nebbiolo with marked mineral tension. Albesani and Gallina lie in Neive. Albesani tends towards greater depth and structure, while the sand within Gallina’s calcareous clay contributes finesse and fragrance. Asili is represented here by a Vecchie Viti bottling from old vines in the central part of the vineyard.
In Barolo, Pira is a seven-hectare monopole in Castiglione Falletto, protected by Rocche di Castiglione above it and woodland below. The regular Pira and Vecchie Viti bottlings allow a close look at the same vineyard through different vine ages. Roagna also farms a small 0.48-hectare parcel in Rocche di Castiglione and makes Barolo di Barolo from Terlo, close to Coste and Ravera in the commune of Barolo.
The 2019 vintage
The 2019s have the structure expected of serious Nebbiolo, but they are not defined by weight. Across the range there is fragrance, freshness and unusually clear vineyard character. The wines are still young, particularly the single-vineyard and Vecchie Viti bottlings, but the balance is already apparent.
Antonio Galloni’s scores for the release range from 92 points for the Langhe Rosso and Barolo di Barolo to 99 points for Pira Vecchie Viti. Scores are not the reason to buy these wines, but they do underline the consistency of the vintage across a very wide range.
The Wines:
R570.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Dolcetto d’Alba’ 2023
Roagna’s Dolcetto comes from vines more than fifty years old in the family’s historic vineyards. It can spend up to 100 days under a submerged cap before ageing in wood and concrete for a year. Dark cherry and plum lead into violets, herbs and bitter almond, with bright acidity and fine tannins. It is ready to drink, but considerably more serious than the category often suggests.
90 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R1,035.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Langhe Rosso’ Nebbiolo 2019
Made from massal-selection Nebbiolo vines up to 20 to 25 years old, which counts as young at Roagna. The wine follows the estate’s traditional method, including at least two months of submerged-cap maceration and about five years in neutral oak and concrete. Red cherry, dried rose, orange peel and earthy spice sit over fresh acidity and fine, savoury tannins.
92 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R2,380.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Solea Langhe Bianco’ 2022
Solea is Roagna’s long-lived white made from Chardonnay with a small portion of Nebbiolo vinified without its skins. The must is deliberately exposed to oxygen before fermentation, a traditional method that favours stability, texture and development in bottle. It then ferments with indigenous yeasts and spends around two years in neutral oak. Lemon, orchard fruit and almond lead into a savoury, saline finish.
92 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R2,945.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Montemarzino’ Timorasso 2022
Montemarzino is made from Timorasso grown in the Colli Tortonesi. The whole grapes spend a few hours in the press before the must is allowed to brown without added sulphur. Fermentation takes place in wood, followed by two years on the lees. It is layered and firmly structured, with lemon, white flowers, herbs, almond and a salty mineral finish. A white designed for the cellar rather than immediate aromatic impact.
92 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Barbaresco
R3,995.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Albesani’ Barbaresco 2019
Albesani is a historic vineyard in Neive, with calcareous clay and plantings dating from the 1950s through to the 1980s and 1990s. This is one of the darker, more structured Barbarescos in the release, with black cherry, rose, spice and iron before firm, finely grained tannins take over.
95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R3,995.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Gallina’ Barbaresco 2019
Gallina also lies in Neive, but its calcareous clay contains a greater proportion of sand. The result is a more fragrant and supple expression, with red cherry, flowers, anise and savoury spice over refined tannins. The 2019 has depth, but never loses the vineyard’s natural finesse.
93 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R3,995.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Pajè’ Barbaresco 2019
Pajè sits in a natural amphitheatre below the family cellar in Barbaresco and has been central to Roagna since 1953. Its high proportion of active limestone gives the wine structure, mineral tension and considerable ageing potential. Red cherry, rose, blood orange and spice lead into a long, tightly drawn finish.
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R8,940.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Asili Vecchie Viti’ Barbaresco 2019
This comes from old vines in the central part of Asili, one of Barbaresco’s most recognised vineyards. Roagna’s parcel covers only 0.22 hectares. Calcareous clay threaded with sand gives a wine of exceptional perfume and finesse, with red cherry, rose, sweet spice and mineral detail carried by long, fine tannins.
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R8,650.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Pajè Vecchie Viti’ Barbaresco 2019
Selected from the oldest vines in Pajè, with annual production limited to roughly 2,000 to 3,000 bottles. It intensifies the vineyard’s perfume and limestone tension without sacrificing detail. Red fruit, rose and citrus peel move into spice and deeper savoury notes, with considerable concentration held by finely etched tannins.
96+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Barolo
R4,040.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Barolo di Barolo’ 2019
The fruit comes from Terlo in the commune of Barolo, close to the Coste and Ravera MGAs. It is the most immediately elegant Barolo in the range, with red cherry, rose petal, orange peel and savoury spice framed by firm, precise tannins. It offers an excellent introduction to Roagna’s Barolo wines, but still has the structure to develop in bottle.
92 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R3,995.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Pira’ Barolo 2019
Pira is Roagna’s monopole in Castiglione Falletto. The vineyard’s limestone, marl and sand produce a Barolo of power and detail, with dark red fruit, rose, liquorice and pronounced mineral depth over commanding, finely drawn tannins.
97 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R3,995.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Rocche di Castiglione’ Barolo 2019
Roagna’s parcel covers just 0.48 hectares above Pira and was planted during the 1960s and 1970s. Calcareous clay rich in white rock and sand gives an especially lifted, mineral Barolo. Red fruit, flowers and orange peel lead into tightly defined tannins. This is a wine of precision rather than sheer weight.
95+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
R8,650.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Pira Vecchie Viti’ Barolo 2019
The Vecchie Viti selection comes from Pira’s oldest vines, including plantings dating to 1937. Only around 2,000 to 3,000 bottles are made. The 2019 has enormous depth and authority, but remains vivid and precise, layering cherry, rose, citrus peel, spice and stone over exceptionally long tannins.
99 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Crichët Pajè
R32,185.00Add to basket
Roagna ‘Crichët Pajè’ Barbaresco 2016
Crichët Pajè is the highest expression of Roagna’s work and one of the rarest wines made in Barbaresco. It comes from the upper rows of Pajè, where approximately 60-year-old Nebbiolo vines grow in the vineyard’s most limestone-rich soils. Production is normally around 1,000 bottles.
Fermentation is followed by an 80 to 90-day submerged-cap maceration, then at least eight years in large, neutral French oak before release. The wine began as the Roagna family’s private reserve and the first commercial vintage was 1978.
The 2016 has exceptional depth and precision, with red cherry, blood orange, rose, tobacco, spice and crushed stone held by fine, chalky tannins. Despite its concentration, it remains fresh and light on its feet. It is compelling now, but has the structure to develop for decades.
100 points, Wine Advocate.
99 points, Wine Spectator.
98+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
The three-bottle cases
The cases offer a more focused way into the release.
The Pira 3-Pack
follows Roagna’s Castiglione Falletto monopole through Pira 2019 and Pira Vecchie Viti 2019, with Solea 2022 alongside.
R15,025.00Add to basket
The MGA 3-Pack
crosses the two appellations with Albesani, Pajè and Rocche di Castiglione, all from 2019.
R11,985.00Add to basket
The Barbaresco 3-Pack
compares Albesani, Gallina and Pajè in the same vintage.
R11,985.00Add to basket
The Barolo 3-Pack
includes Barolo di Barolo, Pira and Rocche di Castiglione.
R12,030.00Add to basket
The Vecchie Viti 3-Pack
contains Asili, Pajè and Pira Vecchie Viti, three of the most limited wines in the release.
R26,240.00Add to basket
The Discover Roagna 3-Pack
is the most accessible introduction to the estate, with Dolcetto 2023, Langhe Rosso 2019 and Solea 2022.
R3,985.00Add to basket