2011 Barbaresco Paje
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Tasting notes
It's easy to fall into the cult of Crichët Pajé. The wine's name means "little hill" in Piemontese dialect, and the winemaking process is carefully weighed and contemplated. The Roagna 2011 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé is fermented with indigenous yeasts, with submerged cap and sees eight long years of aging in both oak and cement. Fruit is drawn from a half-hectare, south-facing parcel high on the Pajé slope that has been farmed by this family since 1953. The bouquet reveals wild berry fruit, rose hip, cedar, crushed stone, smoke and licorice. This expression is lightweight in texture, yet it expertly balances a full load of aromas and flavors on that small frame. The heat of the vintage has not hurt the freshness or the sharpness that you perceive here. The only obstacle is that this wine from the "little hill," carries a hefty price tag. Some 1,560 bottles were made. (ML)
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Roagna's 2011 Barbaresco Pajé is dark, sensual and inviting. Black cherry, plum, licorice, smoke, scorched earth and menthol give the Pajé much of its dark, brooding personality. The ripeness of the vintage has softened some of the contours, but this remains a decidedly virile, imposing Barbaresco that will show at its best with a few more years in bottle. Layers of flavor build into the striking, baritone finish.
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.