2019 Barbaresco Montefico Vecchie Viti

Luca Roagna continues to move at a fast pace. His cellar is now outfitted with a collection of small 100- and 200-liter ceramic tanks designed to age small volumes of Riservas for many years. "I used to move at a slower pace," Roagna told me. "Personal challenges a few years ago greatly impacted me. Now, when I want to do something, I just do it." In the 2019 Barolos and Barbarescos, readers will find a set of super-classic wines. Harvest took place from October 9 to 29, on the later side by today’s standards, but in line with the norm here. As always, the wines see extended maceration on the skins and long aging in cask. One of the major developments in recent years has been a shortening of time in wood in favor of cement, which helps retain freshness and soften the contours. In the past, the Roagna Barolos and Barbarescos showed a slightly oxidative character on release. In time, the wines often found their balance in bottle, something I have been reminded of a few times recently in tastings of older vintages of the Barbaresco Crichët Pajé. Today, the wines are much more precise on release, especially in the aromatics and tannins. Analytically, the 2019s are higher in acid than the 2017s and 2018s, but it is their overall balance that is most notable. Some of them can be enjoyed now; others will require a few years in bottle.

The entry-level bottlings are every bit as distinctive and illustrative of style as the higher-end offerings. In other news, Luca Roagna recently acquired his parcel in Gallina and stopped working with fruit from Faset.