2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole- Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (10/19/2013)
This is absolutely one the 5 best reds I’ve drank this year. Such a complete wine and such a headturner. I double decanted an hour before dinner and immediately poured a glass to access. It took all of about 3 minutes before the freshest aroma of violets wafed from the glass. I knew then this might be a special wine. My first sip confirmed my excitement. This wine has major depth and length and yet is well focused. The velvety mouthfeel is welcoming and rewarding while the acid keeps this vibrant. Great with or without food and superb already on release. I will be buying more of these next week. Could easily be mistaken for Grand Cru Burgundy. When a great blt like this comes along, you know it immediately. 14% Alc Paid $66 and drinks like $150+. (95 pts.)
Craig, I don’t know if I’d mistake a nebbiolo for a pinot, but Vajra is a great, consistent producer.
Just had his 2010 Langhe Nebbiolo - for $20, you can’t buy a more complete wine.
Delighted that you guys found this one. To my mind, this is what the modernists should have been doing instead of dicking around with barrique…making honest, straightforward, delicious wines that deliver now (especially with food) and also have even better years in front of them. Great people, great wine and great prices…
A few months ago, I opened the '03 Vajra Bricco delle Viole. I knew from a visit that the winery is the highest winery in Barolo, but I was unsure whether this vineyard is also at a higher elevation. Some research revealed that this vineyard is 450 meters up, which apparently mitigated the heat of 2003.
Great note, Craig. Love that wine, and that winery/family – nice folks, great stuff, reasonable prices all across the board.
Glad to see someone else out there drinking and enjoying an 08 Barolo. After my Piedmont trip last year I commented frequently on how impressed I was that the 08s were drinking, which was received pretty skeptically around these parts. Of course they’ll continue to get better, but I simply didn’t understand the “07 enjoy now, 08 must wait” mantra people were throwing around…
Kevin, it might be the style of the producer and site too. I had an Oddera single vineyard recently that also drank well but not this well. The tanins on the Oddera were still a little chewy.
Love the people and the wines. We did a dinner with Francesca about two weeks ago. Six Vajra wines on the list. They are in the nice place of being more traditional than the modernist, and more modern than the traditionalist. The BdV is a top Barolo for the money and will reward cellaring. At about 10 years it really starts to turn it on.
The Bricco del Viole was a standout at Antonios barolothon in NY this past spring. I’ve got a bottle going with my new Coravin, and it is a delicious wine, although perhaps not quite as expressive as it was 6 months ago. Now I know what to try tonight! Vajras do a great job not only with the wines G. Boykin mentioned, but also with Riesling and Pinot. I don’t want to prolong the discussion about what happens inside the winery, and think we will all agree that this house does as well as anyone on price/value!!
No, Gugliemo,I’ve got a bottle of 08 viole going for 2 weeks on Coravin. It’s not going to last 6 months, I won’t be that disciplined! My point was that it was more expressive six months ago at La Festa so perhaps starting to shut down.
BTW,Enrico,had my last 67 Cappellano last week for my birthday.Very similar in quality to the 64 we had at your house,but with a more burgundian,expansive red fruited flavor profile.Highly fragrant,high toned and a superb foil for Sherri’s brisket.
Did you prefer it to the 1964, speaking not to ranking one over the other, but just on a (you should pardon THIS word) hedonistic level? (Failing “hedonistic”, I will settle for some sort of “mild pleasure” analysis!)
Thought sounds excellent, G.B. I’ve only had the Coravin for a couple of weeks, and I find it’s great. I can have a nice glass of whatever I want after a long day at work, rather than open a week day wine and find out that two-thirds of the bottle has consumed beofore I recork. I started out with some newer wines, and I’ve now I’m trying some with a bit of age (94 Chateauneuf, 97 Chianti, 98 Barbarossa), but I don’t have any long term data for you yet. My sense is that this will improve the present value of my children’s potential inheritance.
