2008 Barbaresco Paje
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Tasting notes
Just mid ruby. Very fine perfumed earthy cherry. Almost Pinot Noir-like structure with great acidity, persistent fine tannins and ripe but backward fruit. Still quite caught up in itself, so wait. Long and elegant and powerful. Clear Nebbiolo message. (WS)
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
(from limestone soil): Medium red, a bit less dark and saturated than the Barbaresco Montefico. Knockout musky nose offers slightly decadent aromas of cherry liqueur, currant, plum and tobacco. Fat and plush on entry, then a bit closed on the back half, and far less sweet than the Montefico. Really clamps down on the back end: this is almost painful today. The serious tannins avoid coming off as dry but will require several years to harmonize with the wine's fruit. Very long on the aftertaste.
Roagna's 2008 Barbaresco Pajé is totally beguiling. An exotic bouquet laced with tobacco, underbrush, sage, menthol and incense melds into black cherry and plum. The tannins are soft and silky for a young Barbaresco, making the 2008 a pure joy to taste today. With time in the glass, the Pajé continues to open up beautifully, with endless layers of super-classic aromas and flavors wrapped around a mid-weight frame. The Pajé is the most accessible of Roagna's 2008s. Today, it is beautiful.
Very pale ruby. Perfumed lightness but with a hefty dose of tannin. Long and aromatic and lingering. A little bit drying on the finish, but with fantastic length. (WS)
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.