The 2017 Barolos and Barbarescos from ROAGNA have arrived!

The Roagna family is part of an ancient winemaking tradition in Piedmont dating back to the 1880’s. The wines of Roagna have long been regarded as some of the finest red wines in the world, and are eagerly snapped up by wine merchants and collectors.

To say that these wines are rare is an understatement – only a limited number of bottles are released every year. Ex Animo is proud to be the sole importer of Roagna to South Africa. We only receive 12 bottles of some of the wines.

Roagna’s style is characterised by old vines, massal selection within each vineyard, prolonged submerged cap fermentation (up to 3 months), and very long elevage.

“The key to understanding Roagna’s wine is their insistence upon biodiverse masale selected and old vineyards (up to 100 year-old in the case of Castiglione Falletto), whose plants are only green harvested up to 15 yo (older vines set their own yields naturally). Harvests tend to be more protracted than their neighbours, while cuvaisons in large conical French Garbellotto botte also outstrip the norm, lasting anything from one to two months, achieving the finest tannins and maximum extraction. The use of sulphur dioxide is minimal if applied at regular intervals.”

— Berry Brothers & Rudd

barolomga360.it: “Rain in the first two days of September saved an otherwise doomed harvest. 25mm on average, together with a cooler climate, in fact, allowed the Nebbiolo grapes not only to find a new vigour and balance but also to slow the pace of ripening to the point that the average harvest start date, however early it was, was not so surprisingly early as expected.”

In general the 2017 vintage is one that the top producers made the best wines. It was an early vintage, and the wines will reach their peak drinking windows sooner than the outstanding 2016. Luca’s obsessive attention to detail in the vineyard and in the cellar has made for a very successful 2017 vintage at Roagna. The wines have more fruit weight, and slightly less structure than the 2016s, but each wine shows the personality of its vineyard beautifully.

We are offering the Roagna wines in a combination of mixed 6-packs (very limited) and single bottles.

Some of the wines are only available in tiny quanities.

A collection of wines that originate from the two home vineyards (Barbaresco Pajè & Barolo Pira). A small portion of the Dolcetto is from Barbaresco Carso vineyard.

1bt x Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti 2017
1bt x Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Pajè 2017
1bt x Barolo Pira 2017
1bt x Langhe Rosso 2017
1bt x Dolcetto 2021

A collection of all the Roagna Barbaresco wines that were imported with the addition of the Lange Rosso, part of which comes from the younger vines in the Barbaresco Pajè vineyard.

1bt x Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Pajè 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Albesani 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Gallina 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Faset 2017
1bt x Lange Rosso 2017

Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva or MGA refers to a specific area officially defined within the production zones of Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG. Simply put, an MGA can therefore be seen as the equivalent of the French terms cru or climat.

This is a collection of all six MGAs that were imported.

1bt x Barolo Pira 2017
1bt x Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Pajè 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Albesani 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Gallina 2017
1bt x Barbaresco Faset 2017

A collection of all the Roagna Barolo wines that were imported with the addition of the Lange Rosso and the Dolcetto, the majority of which come from the Barolo zone.

1bt x Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti 2017
1bt x Barolo Pira 2017
1bt x Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2017
1bt x Langhe Rosso 2017
2bt x Dolcetto 2021

Notes from Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com

From vines older than 75 years.

From vines older than 75 years.

“powerful, intensely savoury…dark cherry, herbs, leather….one of the most reticent wines in the entire collection…93pts”

“ethereal…nuance and complexity…so nicely balanced…92pts”

“translucent and bristling with energy…nervy…taut…exotic…92pts”

100% Nebbiolo, the majority from the young vineyards (15-25 years old) of Barolo Pira.

“sweet and wonderfully perfumed…absolute delight…ethereal, silky…91pts”

100% Dolcetto, blended from different vineyards – 70 days submerged cap.

“super-classic, mineral-driven…exceptional vintage…91pts”