2016 Solea
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Langhe Solea is a blend of mostly Chardonnay with 20% Nebbiolo (grapes are sourced from the Pira vineyard and are processed off the skins as a white wine). Luca Roagna’s father first made this wine as an experiment in 1988. The two varieties are immediately assembled and fermented as one. In fact, the Chardonnay is harvested at full maturity to add to the pronounced aromatic profile of the wine, and the Nebbiolo is harvested early in order to provide the acidity and crispness. The wine ages in new oak for two years, with that oak transferred over to the red-wine program afterwards. This is a luminous and bright white wine with a very unique and precise aromatic profile—almost exotic I would say—that prizes apricot, preserves lemon, toasted almond and a touch of Moroccan spice.
Critic scores
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
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The 2016 Solea, a blend of Chardonnay and Nebbiolo (fermented white, with no skin contact) from Roagna's Pira vineyard in Castiglione Falletto remains one of the most distinctive whites in Piedmont. Silky, nuanced and super-expressive, the 2016 is a very pretty white with attractive apple, peach, stone and floral notes. Drink it over the next few years.
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.