TN: 2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole (Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo)

  • 2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (3/27/2020)
    Double decanted and tasted in both a Grassl Cru and GGG glass for comparison. Decent nose of tart cherry, burnt orange peel, saddle leather, organic soil and a touch of anise, but wasn’t as perfumed as I was hoping for. After 3 hours more nutty aromas such as roasted sliced almonds and chestnut flavors come through. Good acidity and refined tannins on the palate, though the flavor profile was a little simple. I have had the 2004 BdV recently, which was better in my opinion, but perhaps this bottle was a little off. Will save my remaining bottles to try in 5-10 years. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the note. I would guess it was just young, and possibly needed more air time.

Agreed. Brian, you are good at saving half a bottle for another day - did you, in this case?

The nutty notes worry me a bit about storage issues before it got to Brian.

Brian, what did the cork look like? Also, comparing it to the 2004 is a high bar. The last time I had the 2004, it was equal to Cappellano Pie Franco served alongside, and 2004 is a GREAT Pie Franco. That being said, I would also have high expectations of the 2008, a vintage I missed during an ill-informed partial nebbiolo hiatus (BTW, don’t ever do that, just find ways to drink more nebbiolo).

Todd: I kept the bottle over 3 days. Day 2 not much different, and Day 3 started falling more flat on the palate.

Nathan: The cork was intact. What are you suggesting by the storage issues re: nutty notes that develop later on? I’ve noticed this was a couple other nebbiolo bottlings I’ve had in the past.

Brian, intact wasn’t really what I was looking for. A wine of this age (or really a couple decades older) shouldn’t have wine stains anywhere but at the bottom of the cork touching the wine. I’ve not experienced nutty notes on young nebbiolo before, but we could be naming the same smell with different labels.

The wine stain wasn’t running up the cork. Just on the bottom side touching the wine.

As for the nutty notes, that is certainly possible. I seem to detect anise very easily in pretty much all nebbiolo I drink, so maybe it’s just my nose.

Any differences between the two glasses?

Interestingly I thought it showed better in the GGG. I’m still experimenting with the Grassl glasses, and while I love the Mineralite for riesling and Champagne I don’t find the 1855 or Cru work any better for me than the GGG. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a huge schnoz.

Refrigerated or out on the counter?

Counter top

You have to expect aromas to drop off after a day or two because a lot of the volatile elements simply evaporate at room temperature. Far better to refrigerate the leftovers and then let the wine warm up, in the bottle or in the glass.