By far the most important tactical decision a winegrower has to make is when to pick those grapes. There can be an element of luck but mostly it`s experience, wisdom and holding one`s nerve. Between them Luca Roagna and his dad played a blinder with the challenging hand the 2014 growing season dealt, and scooped the jackpot. They waited until after the harvest rains and their wines are fully ripe, though low yielding; intense and charming; complex and structured. But then that`s the signature of Luca. He may be a musical metalhead (he`s even made a unique bottling for Sigurd `Satyr` Wongraven of heavy metal band Satyricon) but his wines are classical and trad. And that growing season wasn`t all negative. Some of the challenges reduced the crop naturally and that helped with the successful ripening of the fruit. But you must still be a master of your vineyards to make that happen and Luca`s skill is long proven.

The wines are everything you`d hope for from Roagna: fully perfumed with plenty of floral notes backed up with red fruit flavours and hints of cedar and vetiver. They may be delicate and elegant but they have plenty of stuffing. And the long maceration, low intervention winemaking again provides the finest tannins balanced with acidity and a mineral freshness. These wines - especially the Barbareschi - are remarkably drinkable now, but all of them will age very nicely. (CW 15/07/19)

Producer

Roagna

Origin

Piedmont & the northwest, Italy ITALY

Colour

red

Wine Style

dry

Dominant Grape

Nebbiolo

Farming Style

organic

Closure Style

cork

Maturity

drink or keep

Bottle Size

75cl

Case Quantity

6

Alcohol

14%

Wine Score

92 points, Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, August 2019