Italian wine is one of the most exciting rabbit holes you could possibly jump down. The world’s highest volume of wine is produced in Italy, and vineyards are cultivated in each of its 20 regions. Northern Italy’s famed Piedmont (Piemonte) region produces some of the finest wines in the world, and is home to one of the country’s most noble and ageworthy red grapes: the native Nebbiolo.

The thin-skinned Nebbiolo, purportedly named for the morning fog (la nebbia) that prolongs the grape’s ripening process in the fall, produces wines of great vivacity and power, yet the best examples offer haunting aromatic complexity and cellar-worthy longevity. 

The most prestigious zones for Nebbiolo in Piedmont are Barolo and Barbaresco, located along the Tanaro River in the Cuneo Province; an area encapsulated by the larger Langhe district. Barolo wines are typically more powerful and long-lived, whereas Barbaresco is slightly softer and regarded as Barolo’s more feminine counterpart.

One of the region’s most notable producers is the estate of G.D. Vajra, situated in Vergne, the highest village in the Commune of Barolo. The Vajra family has been farming vineyards in this area since the 1880s and today has around 60 hectares (close to 150 acres) under vine.

Among their holdings is Bricco delle Viole – a historical Barolo vineyard with Nebbiolo vines dating back to 1949. Bricco delle Viole is the highest of their estate vineyards, and the closest to the Alps as it rises from 400 to 480 meters above the sea level, on the Western ridge of the village. Up above the fogs, Bricco delle Viole enjoys the earliest sunrise and the last sunset every day.

“Bricco delle Viole is synonymous of elegance. It is a wine that has naturally guided the style of our winery and taught us patience,” says G.D. Vajra proprietor, Aldo Vaira.

The vines of Bricco delle Viole are the last to be harvested as the higher altitude often pushes their pick date well into October. A 30-40 day maceration is the norm in order to gently extract the wealth of fine tannins from the skins. Small percentages of stems are left in depending on the vintage and the wine is aged in Slovenian oak barrels for 42-48 months before bottling.

In the finest of vintages, this is a wine that will display a brilliant ruby red color with notes of cherries, brandied cherries and blackberries. Hints of violets, dried rose petals, citrus and mint round out the rich array of aromatics. The wine is long, fine and persistent on the palate with fine ripe tannins and the ability to age gracefully for decades.

While Bricco delle Viole is largely considered to be the wine for which this estate is best known, the family does also produce noteworthy Nebbiolo wine from several other vineyard sites.

The G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe bottling is a wine that I look forward to tasting each and every vintage. A blend of fruit from a collection of high-elevation Barolo vineyards with exposures that range from southeast to southwest, the wine produced consistently provides impressive varietal character alongside an accessible framework of aromatics and mouthfeel.

The Vajra family also produces a deliciously dry rosé de saignée called Rosabella Vino Rosato. The early picking and a gentle maceration express Nebbiolo’s aromatics in a fragrant, translucent style. This is a seasonal, limited production that shows a surprising capacity of evolution. 2021 is possibly the most floral and seductive vintage to date.

It is my pleasure to be able to bring you an offering of these 3 benchmark wines from the famed Barolo estate of G.D. Vajra.

Since we are working with a specialty importer of European wines for this offer, I am asking for a minimum 3-bottle purchase.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding these wines. They are all absolutely stunning.

Cheers!

Carey Vanderborg, Wine Director

G.D. Vajra, Rosabella Vino Rosato 2021 - $20
G.D. Vajra, Barolo, Albe 2017 - $45
G.D. Vajra, Barolo, Bricco delle Viole 2015 - $85

*3-bottle minimum purchase

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