Roagna: Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2019

Roagna is located directly in Barbaresco. Luca runs the family winery together with his father.

They cultivate only 12 hectares with the utmost care and work in a traditional style. Luca ages his wines reductively, meaning almost completely excluding oxygen. He does this traditionally in large wooden barrels, which are five times as thick as a classic barrique, allowing hardly any oxygen exchange through the wood pores. Additionally, he ages his wines on the fine lees, which is like a youth serum. Similar to the aging of classic Champagne, the wines mature on the lees very, very slowly. As a result, the wines need significantly more time to fully develop. With great effort, the small operation manages the masterful feat of marketing the wines as late as possible.

This means Barolo and Barbaresco usually appear on average one vintage later than from many other producers. The vines are up to 80 years old.

The focus, besides some Barolo, is clearly on Barbaresco. Also very exciting is the Langhe Bianco Solea, a blend of Chardonnay and white-pressed Nebbiolo. A wine that, like the reds, lives from its structure.