Italy · Piedmont

Roagna

Roagna is a small, fiercely traditionalist estate in Barbaresco, based in the Pajè vineyard of Barbaresco and the Bussia cru in Barolo. Run by Luca Roagna, the domaine farms organically and practices extended maceration of 30–60 days with indigenous yeasts, followed by ageing in large Slavonian oak botti for 4–6 years. The result is wines of extraordinary transparency to terroir — powerful but pure, demanding long cellaring. The flagship Barbaresco Pajè and the rare Crichet Pajè (a single-barrel selection from the oldest vines in the parcel) are the most prized at auction, with Crichet reaching $7,500 in exceptional lots. Across 502 auction lots, Roagna averages $484 per bottle — placing it firmly in the upper tier of Italian wines. La Pira Castiglione, the estate's Barolo offering, also commands strong secondary market interest. Vintages 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013 represent the estate's finest recent output, with critics including Antonio Galloni awarding top cuvées 95–97 points. Roagna's limited production — typically only a few hundred cases per cuvée — sustains strong auction demand from collectors seeking traditionally made Nebbiolo of the highest level.