Roncaglie

Roncaglie is Barbaresco at its most reticent. A south-east facing slope in the commune of Barbaresco itself, it has none of the immediate drama of Asili or Rabaja a short walk away, and everything it has to say it says slowly.

The Terroir Tortonian marl – the pale, compact, limestone-rich clay of the Barbaresco commune – on a slope that turns away from the afternoon. The southeast exposure keeps the vines out of the fiercest afternoon heat, preserving acidity and floral aromatics and giving Roncaglie its characteristically fine, cool-toned precision. The Tanaro is close enough to moderate the nights, and the site ripens a few days behind the sun-facing crus above the village, which in a warm vintage is exactly what it needs.

The Critical Take Pale, perfumed and finely drawn: rose, red cherry, dried herbs and a faint mineral bite, carried on acidity rather than weight. The tannin is fine-grained and quietly persistent, and young bottles can seem almost withholding next to the commune’s more generous neighbours. Patience is the price of admission and transparency the reward: aged a decade or more, Roncaglie offers one of the clearest windows onto Barbaresco terroir to be had from the commune.

At the Table Roncaglie’s delicacy and fine-grained tannin suit refined rather than heavy cooking: tajarin with butter and truffle, agnolotti del plin, roast guinea fowl, or a gentle veal tonnato. Its aromatic subtlety is best served by a light hour-long decant for young bottles, or simply opening a mature one; pour at 16 to 18 degrees in a wide Burgundy glass. Give it ten years to reveal its rose-and-violet perfume, and it will hold gracefully for fifteen. It is a connoisseur’s Barbaresco – quiet, precise, and all the more rewarding for it.

Benchmark Producers Poderi Colla, whose Roncaglie has been the reference bottling for the site for years.