About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
Crichët Pajé is a selected terroir within Pajé, Roagna’s historic vineyard in the middle of the municipality of Barbaresco. The family has owned Pajé since 1953. Its gently sloping, amphitheatre-like site faces south and south-west and is sheltered from the wind by the surrounding hills. It opens toward the Tanaro river valley, whose influence moderates winter cold and summer heat.
The vineyard lies at an average elevation of 230 m. Its soils are calcareous marl with a high concentration of active limestone, reaching a particularly high level in the Crichët Pajé plot. The formation is of Tertiary (Cenozoic) marine-sedimentary origin and dates to approximately 70 million years ago.
The Crichët Pajé and vecchie viti wines come from vines of massal origin aged more than 50–60 years. Their deeply established roots explore numerous soil layers for water and nutrients. The average vine age across Pajé is more than 50 years.
Grapes
Nebbiolo. Within the wider Pajé vineyard, Nebbiolo occupies 1.83 ha, while Dolcetto is cultivated in its lower section. The name Crichët denotes the high part of the small hill, regarded as the preferred position for growing Nebbiolo; Pajé identifies the geographical mention of origin.
Ageing
Crichët Pajé required progressively longer maturation during its development. Wines in the Crichët Pajé and vecchie viti category spend an average of five years ageing in wood and concrete.
Technical data
Production is extremely limited, with the precise number of bottles declared on the label.
Label / history
Crichët Pajé grew out of Giovanni Roagna’s research and years of experimentation to isolate a particular terroir. As its need for extended maturation became clear, it evolved into the family’s private reserve for important occasions. Alfredo Roagna introduced it to the market in 1978, making that the first commercially available vintage.
The published vintage record comprises 1978, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995–2002 excluding 2003, 2004–2008, and 2010–2016 excluding 2009.