NV Roagna @ Marta, NYC, 4/7/2022

NV Roagna Barbaresco & Barolo Dinner
@ Marta Restaurant, 29 E 29th St, NYC, 4/7/2022

A group of friends (most of them from the Nebbiolo group formed through the Vinous forum) met for this dinner at Marta Restaurant in NYC.

The food and service were excellent. Every dish was delicious. If I lived in the city, I might eat here once a week.

I brought home the leftovers from the 2007 and 2008 Montefico VVs, but didn't get to taste them again until almost 2 weeks later (due to a cold and other stuff). Still those notes are included for those two wines.

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Arriving at Marta in the Redbury Hotel:

The Menu:

Starter
I think Eric brought this.

2017 Travaglini Nebolé Metodo Classico Extra Brut - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Pop and pour.] Yeasty nose. Crisp, fresh, interesting. (88 points)

Antipasti
Suppli al Salumi (Risotto Croquetta with Tomato, Pecorino, Mozzarella) and
Chicken Meatballs with Gaeta Olives, Tomato, Pecorino, Ricotta, Rosemary):

Arugula Salad with Beets, Fennel, Ricotta Salata, Mint, Pistachios, Blood Orange:

Bonus Wine #1
Rob brought this as an extra wine. It was great to taste in the context of the older Pajè.

2013 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Viti Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Brought by Rob as a bonus bottle. Smoky black fruit and licorice nose. Yummy, juicy, tannic, but not unbearably so. Great potential here. (94–97 points)

Flight 1: 2007 Barbaresco

2007 Roagna Barbaresco Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted for a half hour around 5pm.] Gorgeous nose of red fruit. Complex. Long, juicy finish of red fruit, tar and tannin. Needs at least another 5-10 years to show all it's got. (92–93 points)
2007 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Nose of red fruit and spice. Stunning in the mouth. Rich fruit. Long finish. Wine of the flight. (94–96 points)
2007 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Montefico - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted for a half hour around 5pm.] Black fruit and tar in the nose. Fierce tannins. Needs another decade at least.
13 days later: Slight signs of oxidation, but more of the fruit and complexity shows now. (93–95 points)

Pizzas
Fungi (Mushroom, Mozzarella, Fontina, Red Onion, Thyme),
The Butcher (Soppressata, Guanciale, Pork Sausage, Mozzarella, Grana Padano),
and Margherita (Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil):

Flight 2: 2008 Barbaresco

2008 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Viti Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Opened around 1pm. Double decanted around 3pm.] Lovely bouquet of red fruit, spice, and flowers. Loads of sweet red, but rough tannins on a long finish. This needs another decade. (94–96 points)
2008 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Viti Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 4pm.] Another gorgeous nose of red and black fruit and a bit of something floral. In the mouth, sweet juicy fruit. Not a lot of tannin like the others. Maybe the nicest so far to drink tonight. (94 points)
2008 Roagna Barbaresco Vecchie Viti Montefico - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted for a half hour around 5pm.] Lovely nose of black fruit and flowers. Silky, rich, complex, lots of intense black fruit.
Open 13 days: Slight hints of oxidation, but wow, the complexity of this wine is just stunning. (95–97 points)

My Main Course
Beer-Brined Half Chicken with Delicata Squash Agrodolce:

They change the chicken every few months, but it's always delicious.

Flight 3: Vigna Rionda

2003 Roagna Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around noon for about 3 hours.] Ripe black fruit in the nose. Silky black fruit. Lots of tar. Medium length. Quite a success for the vintage. (93 points)
2004 Roagna Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 8am for about an hour. Left in the bottle open for about 3 hours in the afternoon.] Black fruit nose.Gorgeous in the mouth. Lots of sweet fruit. Some tannin on the finish. Brilliant wine with a long life ahead. (96 points)
2005 Roagna Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm for about 3 hours.] Beautiful nose of black fruit and tar. Just gorgeous in the mouth. Expansive, long. WOTN for me. (97 points)

Bonus Wine #2

This wine was brought by Brad and served blind (covered in foil).

Background on this wine from wongravenwines on Instagram
[Note that wongravenwines is the wine production and life of Satyricon frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven, the frontman of the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon.]
This is from the La Pira vineyard in Castiglione Falletto and it was cultivated and vinified by Luca, and I made the blend. I don't know what he does now, but back then he made separate vinifications based primarily on the age of the vines. This is a blend of three different vinifications within the vineyard. He cultivated the vineyard organically and vinified by spontaneous fermentation with natural yeast, no fining,no filtration and the vinifications were aged separately of course, and after four years of aging, I made the blend and we bottled it. A fair portion of the blend came from the vinification that was destined to become La Rocche e La Pira Riserva as it was called back then. The label ... was drawn by the late Justin Bartlett who is widely considered as an icon within the niche of pointillism.

2006 Luca Roagna / Nero di Wongraven Barolo Unione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Pop and pour. Served blind as a mystery wine.] Juicy red fruit nose. Tart cherry fruit. Soft. Doesn't have the rough tannins of most of the other wines tonight. Quite enjoyable.(93 points)

Conclusion

To me, most of these wines need another decade. The greatness is here, especially in the 2008 Barbarescos which showed a bit more harmony compared to the 2007 Barbarescos.

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.