It's easy to fall into the cult of Crich?t Pajé. The wine's name means "little hill" in Piemontese dialect, and the winemaking process is carefully weighed and contemplated. The Roagna 2011 Barbaresco Crich?t Pajé is fermented with indigenous yeasts, with submerged cap and sees eight long years of aging in both oak and cement. Fruit is drawn from a half-hectare, south-facing parcel high on the Pajé slope that has been farmed by this family since 1953. The bouquet reveals wild berry fruit, rose hip, cedar, crushed stone, smoke and licorice. This expression is lightweight in texture, yet it expertly balances a full load of aromas and flavors on that small frame. The heat of the vintage has not hurt the freshness or the sharpness that you perceive here. The only obstacle is that this wine from the "little hill," carries a hefty price tag. Some 1,560 bottles were made.

This red is full of mulled plum, cherry, menthol, stone and spice flavors. Concentrated yet fluid, with a tightly packed finish. Well-balanced and approachable now if decanted. Best from 2021 through 2040. 130 cases made.??–BS??Region: Italy / Piedmont / Barbaresco Select to Add