Giacosa and Roagna @ Chez Goldberg, NYC, 1/31/2026

Giacosa and Roagna with Luca Rogana
@ Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC, 1/31/2026

This was the Saturday evening of La Festa del Barolo. As has become a tradition, Ben and Wendy hosted a group of friends for a wonderful meal and wine dinner. The food was wonderful as always. Dinner started around 6pm.

A motley group of old friends and Nebbiolo lovers got together to drink the wines of my two favorite producers, Bruno Giacosa and Roagna. Our wonderful hosts provided all the food. Every course was so delicous and well-matched to the wines.

We had two special guests, Luca Rogana and Giampiero Cordero. Luca has been the winemaker at Rogana since 2001. Giampiero's family owns Ristorante Il Centro in Priocca, one of the best restaurants in the Lange area. Giampiero's family also runs a boutique hotel called Dimora Cordero. Giampiero runs Cordero Distribuzione, which imports and distributes fine wine from all over Europe.

This was the second night of this incredible weekend of wine, food, and friends. The first evening was a Monprivato vertical at the Hearth Restaurant in NYC.

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Starter

2002 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne
[Pop & pour.] Rich, red fruit nose. Yeasty, complex and delicious! (94 points)

Flight 1: 2005, 2008 Mascarello Monprivato
These two wines were supposed to be tasted the previous day, but due to an error, they weren't, so we had these tonight. Both excellent wines.

2005 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 5pm. Actually tasted the next day due to an error, but included here for completeness.] Beautiful black fruit nose. Full and rich in the mouth. Long and complex. (94 points)
2008 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 5pm. Actually tasted the next day due to an error, but included here for completeness.] Bright red fruit in the nose. Typical 2008 with cool dark fruit and a nice richness. Lacking a little something on the finish at this point. (93 points)

Flight 2: 1980s Crichët Pajè
Homemade baguettes with salumi (prosciutto, speck, capicola) and fabulous homemade caponata.

1982 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around 4pm.] Very mature sour cherries. The cork was soaking wet from end to end. This bottle had been abused at some point. (NR/flawed)
1985 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Pop & pour.] Muted nose of smoky dark fruit. Rich and complex. A terrific wine somewhat marred by sediment that should have been filtered. (93 points)
1988 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around 4pm.] Corked. (NR/flawed)

Flight 3: Giacosa Barolo
Handmade fettuccine with ragu bolognese. So good!

1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Opened at 4pm. Double-decanted at 5pm.] Lots of dark fruit in the nose with some tar and flowers. A hint of oxidation in the finish. This seems more mature than expected. (92 points)
1999 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted around 5pm.] Nose of sweet black fruit with some tar and violets. Rich and silky in the mouth. Classic 1999. The fruit to tannin ratio here is noticeably higher than other vintages of this wine. Quite typical for 1999, this wine has plenty of power and longevity, but with a silkiness. Kind of reminds me of 1982 Bordeaux in that way. These will live a long time, but drink well throughout their lifetime. (97 points)
2005 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted the night before out of logistical necessity.] Stunning nose of dark fruit and balsam. Tannins quite prominent. I hope the fruit holds up. Surprisingly structured for a 2005. (92–94 points)

Flight 4: 1996 Barbaresco
Universally acclaimed as the flight of the night … so far!

1996 Roagna Barbaresco Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around noon.] Big and rich black fruit nose. Stunningly complex and expansive. Loads of rich red fruit. Still quite young, but wow. Terrific. (96–98 points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Rabajà - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around noon.] Nose of red fruit and balsam. I'm blown away. This is so expansive, long and complex. This is showing brilliantly tonight. Should drink well for another two decades. (97 points)
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted around noon.] Nose of black fruit, balsam, and roses. Another stunning wine in this great flight. Expansive with great structure. Classic iron and fruitcake in this brilliant wine. I love 1996 B&B! (96 points)

Photos by Manuel B.

Flight 5: 2002, 2004 Crichët Pajè
Chicken with mushroom in red wine sauce, string beans. Rich and delicious.

2002 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Pop & pour.] Opulent nose of dark red and black fruit. Silky, complex, expansive. A wow wine! So long and complex. A tour de force in the tough 2002 vintage. The was only Luca's second vintage, but what a huge success. A joy to drink now and for decades to come. (99 points)
2004 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Pop & pour.] Dark, rich, black fruit nose. As expected in this vintage, this is much more backward and tannic than the 2002. A real beast of a wine that needs at least another decade. Hard to judge so young, but this will be truly great one day. (98–100 points)

Photo by Manuel B.

Flight 6: Two Roagna Barolos

2005 Roagna Barolo Vigna Rionda - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted the night before out of logistical necessity.] Sour cherry nose. Good structure. Lots of sour cherries. A little too much VA for me. (93 points)
2016 Roagna Barolo Rocche di Castiglione - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Pop & pour.] Stunning nose of roses and red fruits. Great wine. Great complexity and length. Quite young, but a joy to drink tonight. Such elegance! (97 points)

Photo by Manuel B.

There was one tragedy at this dinner. This 1989 Giacosa Falletto Riserva that I brought had a cork that crumbled and was totally oxidized. 😢

Dessert
Homemade chocolate pavlova with raspberries and homemade coffee pavlova.
These were both so good.

Note Rob's anticipation as Wendy cuts the her pavlovas:

People Pix

Luca talks about his wines and everyone listens.

First photo by Tom.

Wendy took this photo of the rest of us.

A selfie with Manuel, Todd, Luca:

Luca and Giampiero with all the bottles:

Manuel and Luca:

Photos by Manuel B.

Conclusion
We had some painful off bottles, but we still had so many great wines from these two great producers. A joy to share these wines with old friends and new.

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.