The 2013 Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti possesses striking inner sweetness, captivating aromatic intensity and the structure to drink well for many years to come. Sweet red cherry, rose petal, mint and spice are all laced together in a hauntingly beautiful Barbaresco endowed with tons of pure pedigree. A marvelously complete wine, the Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti is also one of the most compelling wines in this set of new releases from Luca Roagna.

Macerated cherry, wild berry and floral notes are offset by wild juniper, rosemary and sage flavors in this vibrant, dense and powerful red. There is a glycerol feel to the texture, and the finish is driven by racy acidity. BS

From a vineyard site measuring only half a hectare in size, the 2013 Barbaresco Pajè Vecchie Viti is marked by the strongest structural fiber when compared to Roagna's other old-vine wines from Barbaresco. This wine emerges from the glass with great aromatic precision, showing notes of cola, balsam and medicinal herb followed by plummy dark fruit. The effect is elegant and refined. The wine's tannic threshold measures right up there with Nebbiolo from Barolo, and this point is made at a tasting such as this by a producer who makes so many single-vineyard expressions from both appellations. In terms of its cellar aging potential, I'd put my money on Pajè for the slowest evolution and longest aging future. ML