The iconic G.D. Vajra (VIE-rah) estate has delivered a stellar set of Barolos from 2020, including one that made it to the #9 spot on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list for 2024! The warm, drawn-out vintage imbued wines with a natural feeling of harmony and early charm. They combine generous aromatic tones with a balanced interplay of juicy concentration, embracing tannic weave and inner glow of acidity. They display more power than the 2013s, more finesse than the 2010s, and fresher aromatic tones than both. This is great news for those who enjoy Barolos a bit earlier while they have tons of youthful ebullience!
G.D. Vajra's elegant and expressive wines make it easy to forget that Barolos generally used to take at least a decade to mellow before you'd want to try them. The change is thanks to 1960s-70s pioneers like G.D. Vajra's founder, Aldo Vaira, who knew that Barolo could be more appealing at an early age if they embraced a more modern approach to grape-growing and winemaking. He was also an early proponent of single-vineyard bottlings for the region, pioneering the bottlings of the Bricco delle Viole and Ravera vineyard sites.today!
From vineyards around the town of Barolo itself, this is their "everyday" bottling that you can enjoy now with a little time in the glass to breathe (though it has plenty in reserve if you like to age your wines a few years). It trades some of the detail, finesse, and length of the single vineyard bottlings for a deliciously upfront display of 2020's even-keeled combination of body and structure, of dark-toned fleshiness and stony earthiness. Plus, it still offers exceptional value!
#9 WINE SPECTATOR TOP 100 OF 2024
WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS - "Aldo Vaira took control of the family vineyards in 1968, when he was just 15 years old. Today, G.D. Vajra is one of the Piedmont region’s most recognized estates and comprises 150 acres, mostly around the commune of Barolo. Aldo and his wife, Milena, are joined by their children, Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro. Though there are three Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (MGA) bottlings at the top of Vajra’s range, it’s Barolo Albe that best represents the winery’s elegant, high-elevation style, delivering consistent quality for an attractive price. Sourced from parcels ranging from 1,250 to 1,585 feet in elevation, the various lots macerated for one to three months, then aged 26 months in 4,000-, 5,000- and 7,500-liter Slavonian oak casks."
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "You can't beat this value. The G.D. Vajra 2020 Barolo Albe is buttoned up with fresh primary fruit, and the wine does not have that hint of over-ripeness that is found across this vintage. The fruit is dark and savory, and there is a big mineral component to match, but the bouquet is nicely redolent of dark currant, plum, granite and a raspy dry note that brings crushed shale to mind. The tannins are quite impactful, and they give this wine extra runway for moderate bottle aging."
G.D. Vajra's elegant and expressive wines make it easy to forget that Barolos generally used to take at least a decade to mellow before you'd want to try them. The change is thanks to 1960s-70s pioneers like G.D. Vajra's founder, Aldo Vaira, who knew that Barolo could be more appealing at an early age if they embraced a more modern approach to grape-growing and winemaking. He was also an early proponent of single-vineyard bottlings for the region, pioneering the bottlings of the Bricco delle Viole and Ravera vineyard sites.today!
From vineyards around the town of Barolo itself, this is their "everyday" bottling that you can enjoy now with a little time in the glass to breathe (though it has plenty in reserve if you like to age your wines a few years). It trades some of the detail, finesse, and length of the single vineyard bottlings for a deliciously upfront display of 2020's even-keeled combination of body and structure, of dark-toned fleshiness and stony earthiness. Plus, it still offers exceptional value!
#9 WINE SPECTATOR TOP 100 OF 2024
WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS - "Aldo Vaira took control of the family vineyards in 1968, when he was just 15 years old. Today, G.D. Vajra is one of the Piedmont region’s most recognized estates and comprises 150 acres, mostly around the commune of Barolo. Aldo and his wife, Milena, are joined by their children, Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro. Though there are three Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (MGA) bottlings at the top of Vajra’s range, it’s Barolo Albe that best represents the winery’s elegant, high-elevation style, delivering consistent quality for an attractive price. Sourced from parcels ranging from 1,250 to 1,585 feet in elevation, the various lots macerated for one to three months, then aged 26 months in 4,000-, 5,000- and 7,500-liter Slavonian oak casks."
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "You can't beat this value. The G.D. Vajra 2020 Barolo Albe is buttoned up with fresh primary fruit, and the wine does not have that hint of over-ripeness that is found across this vintage. The fruit is dark and savory, and there is a big mineral component to match, but the bouquet is nicely redolent of dark currant, plum, granite and a raspy dry note that brings crushed shale to mind. The tannins are quite impactful, and they give this wine extra runway for moderate bottle aging."
