Giovanni Roggero ~ San Biagio

Giovanni Roggero
Owner & Winemaker
Azienda Agricola San Biagio
La Morra, Italy

The wine estate stands on the slopes of the San Biagio hill in La Morra, one of the eleven villages forming the area where Barolo wine is produced.

The farm stretches out over 18 hectares (45 acres), and has belonged to the Roggero family for generations. Surrounded by splendid vineyards, it enjoys a spectacular panorama opening out onto the Langhe, a range of hills packed with history and castles. Old documents preserved in the village archives show that San Biagio hill was known of as far back as the Middle Ages. Indeed, the term Sancte Blaxius appears in a 1477 entry in the local land registry, when a Benedictine monastery (San Biagio Priory, 1050 AD) used to grow vines here. All the estate vineyards are part of the Great Vineyards of Barolo within the Commune of La Morra: with resolution no. 21 of 15 April 1994, the village council established the boundaries of the crus recognized as being prime sites for the growing of the Nebbiolo variety used to produce Barolo wine.

The old cellar is located in the original farmhouse dating back to 1923. Here, various vintages of Barolo age in large casks stood beneath a high, narrow-vaulted brick ceiling. A new winery was built alongside in the year 2000, equipped with a modern vinification area, and a floor underground providing the perfect surroundings for wines to mature in tonneaux and barriques, and then in the bottle.

The family-run farm is co-ordinated by Giovanni, while his sons work in the vineyard and the cellar. Davide is responsible for looking after the vineyards and implementing plant protection measures in compliance with EU directives on environmentally friendly farming, and winemaker Gianluca handles the vinification, giving the wines their inimitable style and respecting their varietal qualities.

the farmstead wines collection 

San Biagio 2006 Verduno Pelaverga
Classic white pepper characteristic of Peleverge, with a fruity backdrop, balanced with good acidity, medium-medium light body, with a long spicy finish

San Biagio 2005 Barbera d’Alba
Animale selvatico, prunes, berries, fresh on finish, balanced with sweet round tannins and plenty of acidity

San Biagio 2004 Langhe Rosso Jenin (100% Cabernet Sauvignon)
I didn’t want to like it after Gianluca told me it was Cab. I probably rolled my eyes- what are you doing with Cab in Piemonte? I was wrong. Spice, leather, round and meaty with a long finish, balanced tannins and good acidity. Maybe all Cab should come from the Piedmont

San Biagio 2003 Barolo
Dried plums, cinnamon, animale selvatico, grosso (not one word in English for rich and round without being fat, maybe “rubenesque”), harmonic with firm, ripe tannins and a long balanced finish. Hints of cypress trees.

San Biagio 2001 Barolo Sori del Rovere
Petrol, dried fruits and orange peel. Tannins are well integrated with a good finish and spice notes