2010 Barbaresco Paje
Buying options
Tasting notes
Luca Roagna’s 2010 Barbaresco Pajè is one of the Barbarescos we featured in a recent Roagna masterclass that kicked off this year’s La Festa del Piemonte; the other two were the 2014 and 2016 editions. From the moment I open the bottle, I know we are in for a treat. Heady Nebbiolo perfume completely fills the room. In my experience, only Barolo and Barbaresco can deliver that kind of aromatic sensory overload. What an experience. I usually taste Piedmont wines young, upon release, and then again as older wines, 10-12 years after the vintage. The 2010 Pajè is in a perfect spot where it has lost some of its youthful intensity and tannin, yet remains quite vibrant. Beautifully layered on the palate, the 2010 gets better and better over time as it opens to reveal all the dark, balsamic-tinged notes this site is so famous for. The Roagna wines have become quite pricey, which is why I often suggest readers focus on the Pajè and its sister wine, the Barolo Pira, which remain far more accessible than the smaller production wines. Readers lucky enough to own the 2010 Pajè are in for a treat. Quite simply, it is everything Barbaresco can and should be. I loved it.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2010 Barbaresco Pajé is the most complete of Luca Roagna's 2010 Barbarescos today. A host of dark cherry, plum, leather, savory herbs, tobacco and menthol all open up in the glass, enshrouded by the balsamic notes that are so typical of this site. The tannins are firm and incisive, yet there is a density and pure vibrancy in the fruit that balances things out. All the elements are in the right place. The straight Pajé is a bit more lifted and delicate than the Vecchie Viti.
The 2010 Barbaresco Pajé is the most complete of Luca Roagna's 2010 Barbarescos today. A host of dark cherry, plum, leather, savory herbs, tobacco and menthol all open up in the glass, enshrouded by the balsamic notes that are so typical of this site. The tannins are firm and incisive, yet there is a density and pure vibrancy in the fruit that balances things out. All the elements are in the right place. The straight Pajé is a bit more lifted and delicate than the Vecchie Viti.
About the producer
Roagna is one of Italy’s finest estates, producing top, single-vineyard Nebbiolos in Barbaresco and Barolo. The estate’s Crichët Pajé Barbaresco is one of the rarest fine wine cuvées in Piedmont with fewer than 2,000 bottles produced each year.