Cascina Roccalini Langhe Nebbiolo 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Words from Tom Hyland

Here is a hidden gem you should know about. It’s the creation of Paulo Veglio, who sold his Nebbiolo grapes to Dante Scaglione at Bruno Giacosa for ten years, and then with the help of Scaglione, decide to produce his own Barbaresco. The winery is named for the sottozona where his vineyards and winery are located. The wine is fermented in cement tanks, which improves its varietal purity, and then matured in grandi botti. This is an exceptional Barbaresco, one that makes no apologies for its intense fruit-dominated character. It’s rich, complex and extremely subdued with its wood notes. I absolutely love this wine, which is admittedly hard to find as so little is produced (less than 1000 cases). But it’s definitely worth the search (from time to time, there is also a riserva Barbaresco produced).

FERMENTATION TANKS: Concrete
YEASTS: Natural
MACERATION: 60 days
AGED IN: Concrete for 8 months.
CLARIFICATION/FILTRATION: None
VEGAN: Yes
ALCOHOL CONTENT: 15 % vol.
TOTAL PRODUCTION: 5,000 bottles
ALTITUDE: 220-250 m
SOIL: Clay & marl
YEAR PLANTED: 2006-2013
DENSITY: 5,000 vines/hectare YIELD: 1.5 kg per vine

About Cascina Roccalini

Paolo Veglio is a first generation Barbaresco producer. His family has worked in broad range of trades from architects to hazelnut brokers, but not a single farmer. His interest in farming and winemaking came from growing up watching tractors working the most iconic Barbaresco vineyards from his backyard. Paolo’s first car was a tractor, and he helped local farmers ploughing before he learned how to drive an automobile.

His family always placed the highest value on three things: the nature of the Langhe, the hills around Alba and having a job on their own. This would lead Paolo to seek work where he could celebrate all three.

“After high school, when it was time to decide what to do in life, the only thing I was really sure about was that I did not want to sit behind a desk. I wanted to work in the fields.”

He made the decision to go to the closest enology school in Alba. There he met others who were inspired to connect with the land. His passion for wine flourished. All that was left to do was start turning the grapes he was farming at Roccalini into world class Barbaresco.

Cascina Roccalini was founded in 2003, after a decade of farming the land and selling the fruit to producers like Bruno Giacosa. He built a cellar as part of a greater restoration process for his families old farmhouse, “Villa Como.”

After a couple of vintages making wine at another cellar, with unsatisfactory results, Paolo bottled his own Roccalini Barbaresco in 2005, and finally got a chance to make wine his way.

Although Paolo is a first generation farmer, the lands he farms are rich with history. The soils are rich with life.The hills of Barbaresco have a history of viniculture dating back to Roman times. Not far from Cascina Roccalini remains of coins and old buildings from the First Century AD have been excavated.

The video below is a wonderfully honest retrospective of Paolo’s journey from renegade, child tractor driver, farmer, and finally vigneron making his own vino.

In the Vineyard

Villa Como is the oldest part of the estate. It can be found on maps of Barbaresco dating back to 1805, back when Napoleon had conquered Italy. The oldest part of the villa dates back to 1600, where there is still a little church, restored in 1850. Today it’s still in almost perfect condition and houses a beautiful painting of Madonna Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrow).

The appellation “Roccalini” was already known by the end of 1800 when Lorenzo Fantini (a viticulture and enology expert) mentioned the “beautiful vineyards” of Roccalini (calling them Como).

In 1898, Professor Dominio Cavazza, the director of the Enologic School of Alba, organized the first Cantina Sociale di Barbaresco. One of the eight producers was General Guglielmo Como, from who Paolo’s great grandfather purchased the estate in 1920.

The Roccalini Cru is secluded in Barbaresco. It’s nestled into the far Southwestern end of the appellation. No main highways go near it, only a small gravel road about a mile from the little village of Pertinace. All around the cellar you can admire the unspoiled atmosphere and amphitheater of vineyards surrounding Villa Como. The average altitude is 250 meters. The exposure is South and Southwest facing. The soil is the agrillaceous marl typical of Barbaresco. This marl is mineral rich and permeable which is ideal for Nebbiolo.

While Cascina Roccalini isn’t certified organic or biodynamic, Paolo farms based on the ideals and respect for nature that organics and biodynamics represent. For him, certification is a formality. The most important for Paolo is letting nature work at it’s own pace, and not hurrying things along with chemicals.

“Vineyards worked only with chemicals will never lead to good results. When a farmer choses to work organically, he already knows that in order to do so he will have to double and triple his work in the fields. But when you get good results, all the hard work is soon forgotten.”

Because of the amazing fruit and the historically recognized site, Paolo’s first priority is as a protector and nurturer of the grapes and land. Winemaking is the ideal medium to share the beauty of Roccalini with us all.

In the Winery

Paolo’s process in the cellar is very simple. After grapes have fully reached phenolic ripeness they are meticulously harvested. After letting the grapes cool overnight he presses the next day with a de-stemmer press that allows for a soft press.

Fermentation is done with ambient yeast in steel or concrete tanks. All aging is done in large oak, never barriques. After at least 18 months of Botte (24 for the Riserva) his Barbarescos are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Pure, perfect Nebbiolo traditionally made.

“My job in the cellar is very simple and I tend not to overwork the wine.”

Paolo uses a traditional method called steccatura (splint) to wedge stocks in the top of the vat to hold the cap down in the juice. Macerating by holding the cap down is a softer method of breaking the cap than “punching it down.” which allows a long, sixty day, maceration without over extracting the tannins. The result is well-integrated tannins that aren’t too harsh, but that give the wine a sturdy structure and long aging potential.

Where in the World is Cascina Roccalini?

Cascina Roccalini is in the heart of Barbaresco near Olek Bondonio.