Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Luca Roagna's father was born in 1953, and that year also marks the first vintage this wine was produced by Luca's grandfather Alfredo, who was deeply convinced by the potential of this vineyard and went into deep financial debt after the war in order to purchase this land. The 2019 Barbaresco Pajè is muscular and firm with dark fruit and grippy tannins. There is a chalky quality that reflects the site's limestone soils. Delivering ample heft and dimension, this is a wine of substance. (ML)

Here's a fascinating discovery from the quiet underground cellars of Roagna. The 2006 Barolo Riserva Pira is deeply saturated and sophisticated, with a dark garnet, almost crimson appearance that remains luminous and bright throughout. In terms of structure, the tannins have been softened and tapered down, thanks to bottle aging. The wine is literally weightless on the palate today. In a similar manner, the bouquet has become a seamless expression of evolved Nebbiolo, with a slew of licorice, ashy and dried berry aromas.

This wine was bottled in the fall of 2024 and will hit the market in September 2025. The Bartolo Mascarello 2021 Barolo sees the same blend of five vineyards as the 2020 vintage, but this edition shines with brighter clarity and focus thanks to the excellent growing conditions of the growing season. The 2021 is beautifully lifted and vertical; however, it reveals growing complexity even at this nascent stage. Winemaking counted a long and careful 48 days of submerged cap, marking a traditional fermentation.

In bottle, the 2022 Lafite Rothschild has turned out even better than I anticipated. Wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, minty blackcurrants, violets and cigar box, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and suave, with a deep, enveloping core of lively fruit, beautifully refined tannins, and a long, perfumed finish. Even at this early stage, it's remarkably integrated and harmonious, and it's certainly the most elegant of the first growths this year, reminding me of a modern-day version of Lafite's magical 1953. (William Kelley)

The new Krug release, the NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, based on the 2016 vintage and comprising 11 vintages in total (the oldest is 1998), is outstanding. It reveals a complex, slightly spicy bouquet of white fruits, beeswax, marzipan, hazelnuts, dried herbs, ripe orchard fruits and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated on the palate, it has a subtly spicy entry, an enrobing and layered texture and a fleshy core of fruit framed around a perfectly balanced, fresh and mineral finish.

A blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Sémillon, the 2022 Carbonnieux Blanc evokes notes of boxwood, white flowers, spices, confit citrus and pear mingled with dominant Sauvignon Blanc-inflected notes. Medium to full-bodied, incisive and layered, it’s deeper than the 2021, with a round, enrobing palate, bright acids and a long, penetrating and mouthwatering finish complemented by a delicate gastronomic bitterness due to the dryness of the year. This is a great effort. (YC)

The 2016 Cantenac Brown comes from a Margaux estate that has upped its game in recent years. It has an intense bouquet with floral aromas filtering through the black cherries, cassis and boysenberry notes, in an odd way almost Saint-Emilion in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. Silky smooth with very well-judged acidity, there is a sorbet-like freshness imbued into this Margaux and it just glides across the palate towards the quite sensual finish. This is certainly equal to the impressive 2015 Cantenac Brown. (NM)

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Gazin charges out of the gate with bold boysenberries, baked plums and Christmas cake notes plus hints of unsmoked cigars and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with baked black fruit, framed by firm, ambitious tannins, finishing long and mineral tinged. (LPB)

Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. The Trotanoy has exquisite definition on the nose: more floral with violets interlacing the blueberry, cassis and damson fruit, with underlying mineralite that will develop with time. The palate is medium-bodied, tensile tannins, electric acidity, muscular with lifted black fruits, well-integrated toasty new oak, leading to an opulent finish. This is just a baby, but what a bonny one it is. Great potential. (NM)

This is an excellent Haut-Brion from a modest vintage. It has a charming, lifted nose of blackberry, cranberry and fresh black olives, all with fine definition and refinement. The palate is medium-bodied, very refined as if the wine is holding everything back until later. There are notes of blackberry, cranberry and a touch of raspberry leaf with a cedar/sous-bois character becoming more evident with aeration. Great persistency, but it is the sheer elegance of this wine that seduces. Impressive. (NM)