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Cascina Roera is born six years ago
from the uion of the two former estates of Carlo Rosso and Piero
Nebiolo, joining the vineyards that lies partly around the winery
in Bionzo hamlet and partly around the castel of Costigliole. Here
the wines produced are linked to the territory even in a somewhat
extreme way, instead of running after concentration and softness.
The clear exemple are the Barbera Superiore Cardin Selezione 2003,
ethereal (15% alcohol), deep, with aromas of earth and chocolate,
with warm, tender and very long finish in mouth. Same for the Chardonnay
Le Aie selezione 2004 (reported by mistake last time instead of
the 2003), rich, exotic, tropical and balsamic, tender up to the
sweetness, it is more adapted to be served with meat and cheese
then fishes. Clearly easier to access but not less attractive are
the other Barbera: la Roera 2005, from Bionzo vineyards is fruity,
a bit earthy and coarse while the San Martino 2004 is silky and
velvety. To conclude are the pleasant Freisa and Ciapin, a white
wine made of Sauvignon, Arneis and Sémillon.
Claudio Rosso e Piero Nebiolo (with
two such names...) have decided to have an artisanal approach toward
wine, in the best sense of the term: manual management of the vineyard,
little pumping, neither filtration nor addition of chemical in the
wine, only copper and sulphur on the vineyard (4-5 time a year maximum),
very low level of sulfite in the wine (and there are trails going
on to eliminate it completely). The industry is light years away.
It might be for this reason that Cascina Roera can afford different
orientation such as presenting only now a wine extreme like the
Barbera Cardin Selezione of 2003 or to projet in Costigliole a new
Barbera-Nebbiolo blend of wich, we can bet, we will ear about soon. Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cardin Selezione
2003 Barbera d'Asti Superiore Vigna San Martino
2004 Piemonte Chardonnay Le Aie Selezione 2004
Freisa d'Asti 2005 - € 8 Ciapin 2006 - Sauvignon 60%, Arneis 25%,
Sémillon 15% - € 6 Barbera d'Asti La Roera 2005 - €
8 The collaboration between Piero Nebiolo and Claudio Rosso is going on to produce excellent results with Cascina Roera, the union of their former estates. Their philosophy to present only really convincing wines goes on, therefore also on this sheet we will have some shortages and, unfortunately, it lacks just the leading products, the Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cardin, that, in 2000 has not been produced; we have however retasted the 2001 vintage and found it even better and more balanced. Between the Barberas presented the Barbera d'Asti Superiore 2001 stands out: aged in large oak casks for 60% and in barrel for 40%, it shows a nice, intense ruby red with still some purple glints; on the nose it offers aromas of fruits such as plum and blackberry, aromas of species such as tobacco or coffee; on the palate, the beginning is strong but elegant and balanced; the final confirms a great interpretation of the terroir. The base version of the Barbera d'Asti 2002 is less complex: good extraction of colour, aromas of blackcurrants and cherries, ready to taste with a consistent aromatic persistence. Regarding white wines, first comes the Ciapin white 2003, a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40 % Arneis and 10% Cortese fermented in stainless steel tank and kept in contact with lees; the colour is a charged straw yellow, with floral and fruity scents; good but non-aggressive acidity and closing based on a pear aftertaste. The Piemonte Chardonnay Le Aie 2003 is excellent, with a charged colour, mature scents of fruit, warm and round on the palate with a nice aromatic persistence.
This young estate created by Piero Nebiolo and Claudio Rosso has proved right from the beginning able to offer wine of good quality. A fact that is also confirmed by this sheet even so it can appear shorter compared with the previous ones. In reality it is the result of a combination of circumstances: on one side the 2002 harvest, that pushed to produce only two types of Barbera and on the other hand, the laudable will to delay the release of wines already bottled in order to make them more harmonious. We will relate therefore neither the Barbera d'Asti Superiore San Martino 2001 nor the Barbera d'Asti 2002, that will be postponed to next issue of the guide. Fortunately, the best selection of the estate remains: the Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cardin 2001. Only 6'000 bottles have been produced on vineyard with Eastern exposure on chalky soil that express very well the terroir: deep and intense ruby colour, aromas of cherries and red fruits together with liquorice and wood balsamic, while it is well balanced on the palate with a clean and pleasant almond like finish. For the reds, the Ciapin white 2002 is a real blend of Chardonnay and Arneis (70 + 30%): fermented in stainless steel but with a long permanency on the lees, it expresses scents of daisy and pear. On the palate, it has the right freshness but also a gut roundness; it is certainly well done, with its only limit being a final not too long. More complex is the evaluation of the Piemonte Chardonnay Le Aie 2002: it appears evolved, with a colour almost of cooper and a nose of mature plum and meldar; in the mouth it is compensated by mineral flavour almost like a Riesling.
Claudio Rosso and Piero Nebiolo, two small quality oriented producers have united their strengths to simplify and rationalise their winery and their will carry on to produce together under the brand "Cascina Roera". With the exception of the Barbera d'Asti 1999, all other wine are already the fruit of the blend of their two productions, while starting from the 2002 harvest, the blend start from the grape already. The wines, already of a high level, promise to become even better. Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cardin Riserva
2000 Barbera d'Asti Superiore 1999
Barbera d'Asti Superiore Cardin 2000 Barbera d'Asti Superiore San Martino 2000
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