2003 - Barbaresco Paje, Roagna

The 2003 Barbaresco Paje is an insanely beautiful, huge wine loaded with fruit. Amazingly, the 2003 Paje remains almost primary, with little development of tertiary aromas and flavors. The tannins are almost impossibly elegant for a wine from this torrid vintage and the level of freshness is unmatched by any other 2003 Barbaresco. The wine's inner perfume and sweet, plump core of fruit hint at a hot vintage, but the balance here is simply mind-blowing. Subtle suggestions of menthol, smoke, tar and spices come to life on the finish. The Paje is made from vines in excess of 20 years old. This is the Barbaresco of the vintage. In 2003 Roagna sacrificed their top lots (usually destined for the Riservas) to strengthen this entry-level bottling, and it shows. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2028. Roagna is one of the most fascinating properties in Piedmont. The family owns small, but choice, plots in some of the region's best vineyards. The estate makes a wide range of wines, but the Barbarescos and Barolos are the highlights. In top vintages there can be as many as three selections of Barbaresco (Barbaresco Paje, Barbaresco Riserva Paje and Barbaresco Crichet Paje) and two of Barolo (Barolo La Rocca e La Pira, Barolo Riserva La Rocca e La Pira). The wines are fermented in oak vats and remain on the skins until mid-December, after which they are aged in oak barrels for as many as a dozen years prior to being bottled. This year Roagna has three new wines; a Barbera made from vines in the La Rocca e La Pira vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, and small-production Barbarescos from the Asili and Montefico vineyards. Among the many highlights are the 2003 Barolo La Rocca e La Pira and Barbaresco Paje, which are both exceptional (there were no Riservas made that year), the 2004 Barbera d-Alba, the 2004 Barbaresco Asili, the 1995 Barolo Riserva La Rocca e La Pira and the 2000 Barbaresco Crichet Paje. As readers can deduce, the wines are usually released later than most and can be