i paglieri da alfredo e giovanni roagna Vino da Tavola Del Piedmont crichet paje 1988

13.5%

The label shows Da Vinci's drawing of squaring the circle!

This is 100% DOCG Barbaresco from the Paje vineyard but for some reason labeled differently. Crichet Paje had its first year in 1978 and previously was an experiment for the family. I believe it is a separate plot inside the Paje vineyard. Referred to recently as the "Monfortino of Barbaresco", it sees long macerations and is intended to age for 40 to 50 years, according to the producer's verbiage. The recent prices put it into the top 10 most expensive wines of Italy according to Wine Searcher.

I got this for $25 as the store had tasted it and found it "spritzy". The capsule came off with difficulty. There was some very sappy wine residue underneath the cork that stuck to the capsule. The long cork was dripping with wine on all sides for the entire length. I let it sit corked for a couple of hours and then decanted for another couple hours.


The wine had a "serious" nose but I had "palate lock" and didn't really get beyond a Barbaresco without fireworks....kind of average. I blamed it on the leakage....like a bike tire gone flat. Really I think my palate was off that night.

I had a glass the next night and it was quite nice but not great. Then my wife chimed in and said she had really liked it the night before. So I feel like my wife has over-taken me in wine appreciation. Twice in a row she liked it more than I!

"deep / dark cherry / moderately intense / satisfying / sage / savory.

Intense nose of blackberry, earth and mushrooms"

I think the wine was compromised by the leakage and actually showed quite well despite that. I fully expect my remaining bottles of this wine to show better.

Despite the "palate lock" we had some Piedmont fava beans (with cream and fontina) and risotto with black trumpet mushrooms. The buffalo steak was served with black trumpet sauce and a Oregon black truffle grated over it. I still don't know how to cook steak, much less buffalo but the fava beans were excellent. Can you believe for $8 I got the Oregon truffle and the black trumpet mushrooms from the farmer's market? I had enough to make a pizza for lunch as well with fontina, parmesian, prosciutto and black trumpets. Wow!

Thanks
Fraser

I had this again recently and it showed so much better. Still, a stained cork 3/4s of the way up but got a distinctive pop/hiss as I reached the wine with the corkscrew. Decanted 3+ hours.

"Very nice, balanced, poignant. So ripe, easy to drink. Balanced to the max. Very complex, austere and drying. Crisp. Beautiful nose. Clove - very striking"

Next day: "Young, fresh, precise. Able to go 30 more years. Strong and persistent".

A drop 5 days later from the open bottle was still very nice.

I think this wine will last forever and might improve, not sure. It's a good time to open it though. A meditative wine. A really nice array of flavors that weren't easy to call out. A few amazing sips - one where the wine was "ripe but not ripe" in a way I haven't quite experienced before but seems not out of place for a very good Barbaresco. So hugely enjoyable and with striking character. Definitely a level above most of the Barbaresco I've had recently. I wouldn't pay $832 for this wine though (most recent sales price per WineSearcher).

Went great with venison medallions coated with porcini powder.

Thanks
Fraser