2019s from Roagna! - Top class wines from an incredible vintage

I know what you are thinking, really more nebbiolo? I can't help it, it's my favorite grape and region. Piedmont consistently produces some of the best wines year in and year out. There are so many talented winemakers as well it can be daunting to settle on one, so I've done the work for you! Here I present some of the range of vineyards that Luca Roagna, who is the current head of the estate, so graciously crafts.

[The well cared for topsoils of the Roagna vineyards.]

I am a huge advocate for fantastic wine being available at reasonable prices, unfortunately this offer doesn't have much "everyday" wine. These are exceptional wines for momentous occasions, but what exactly makes them stand out so much?

As with any artisan it boils down to the philosophy that directs the estate to their vision that they want to uphold and the execution. The Roagna family has numerous tenets that make up their way of viticulture, a select few of these that I believe deserve to be highlighted are the practices of massal selection, pied de cuve fermentation, submerged cap maceration and long ageing before release.

Massal selection, the propagation of new vines from a diverse range of parent plants, is taken one step further. Roagna only selects parent plants that have origins in that specific vineyard, never from outside sources giving each bottling an inimitable identity to each bottle. Submerged cap maceration, cappello sommerso in Italian, a practice where the opening is sealed and the tank is then filled up leaving the skins suspended, imparts an effusive character to the fruit. Macerations for Roagna have been increased since Luca has taken over, minimum 60 days leaving no margin of error for quality of the grapes being used. The pied de cuve, or foot of tank, is a method of starting the fermentation by crushing a small portion of grapes sequentially to obtain a strong colony of indigenous yeast that lack volatility. Lastly, the extended ageing that the estate applies ensures the wines leave the cellar in perfect condition and are a joy to drink upon release if you're so inclined. Everything Roagna makes has the ability to be cellared for years.

It's all of this and more that makes the entire lineup from Roagna speak of the land with a clarity and eloquence that's rarely found in the wine world these days.

-Ranggy Tapia

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