Luca Roagna and his family have been making some of the greatest wines in Piemonte for generations, and the quality just keeps rising. Anyone will be able to respect and admire the work of Luca Roagna: no step taken in the vineyard or the winery is without complete follow-through of thought.
Standing in the middle of one of their vineyards, you almost forget it's a place to grow grapes. Grass, insects and wildlife flourish throughout the vines, which are never subjected to chemical sprays, mowing or tilling. The bio-sphere is diverse and vigorous, the soils healthy: the result is impeccably grown grapes ready to become impeccably made wine.
Professional Reviews
Antonio Galloni
AG
95
"The 2013 Barolo Pira is dark and powerful to its core. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2013 is all nerves and muscle. Iron, blood, smoke, cedar, smoke and licorice give the 2013 much of its super-distinctive flavor profile. In the glass, the 2013 is wonderfully deep and exotic, with layers of dimension that open up effortlessly over time. Readers will have to be patient with the 2013, but it is hugely promising. Sadly, prices for the Roagna wines have gone up dramatically in recent years. If there is one wine that readers should absolutely not miss, it is the 2013 Barolo Pira." -Vinous
Robert Parker
RP
96
"The 2013 Barolo Pira sees fruit sourced from a five-hectare plot (with 16,800 bottles made). The Pira vineyard is Roagna’s home-base parcel and is the biggest single vineyard the family cultivates in the Barolo appellation. Pira is easy to recognize in terms of bouquet, thanks to those distinctive aromas of dried rose petal and balsam herb that lift gently from the bouquet. Due to long maceration times, which are the norm here at Roagna, the wine’s color shows medium intensity, but that color should be fixed and stable over the long haul because any remaining material in suspension has since fallen out, thanks to the slow fermentation process. This wine delivers evident structure and a touch of rawness or naked nerve that underlines the wine’s young age (and, consequently, its long future aging potential). Dark fruit and a touch of sweet spice add volume to the finish."
Jancis Robinson
JR
17.5
"Pale ruby-garnet. Old leather, dried tobacco and baked red-cherry fruit, with chalk and flint mineral and some chocolate, old oak breadth. Juicy acidity and ripe, dried red cherry. Firm, fine tannins and a long, aromatic finish. Classy now but may go somewhere further."
Wine Spectator
WS
94
"Haunting aromas and flavors of graphite, macerated cherry, strawberry, rose hip tea and tar are the hallmarks of this complex, vibrant red. Impeccably balanced, fresh and long, with a lingering, minerally aftertaste."