These days, a lot of us are reaching for youthful, lightly structured reds with a light chill. Made with a lighter extraction from the grape skins, and bottled quickly after fermentation, they're an easier-drinking, refreshing alternative to a typical red wine. In a place like the Langhe hills of Piedmont, Italy, where Nebbiolo is most famous for making boldly structured, earthy wines, the extremely fresh, youthful style of G.D. Vajra's "Claré J.C." Langhe Nebbiolo really stands out: the latest release is from last Fall's harvest, bottled in February! It has Nebbiolo's beguiling aromatic complexity of berries and citrus, flowers, herbs, and spices; the bright, succulent fruit saturates the palate, gliding across with satiny texture, and finishes cleanly with the light leftover spritz of fermentation.
The "Claré J.C." might seem to be a modern style, but there's a tradition for wines like this here in Piedmont. After learning that Thomas Jefferson had been enamored with a fizzy Piedmontese Nebbiolo, proprietor Giuseppe Vaira made this bottling according to a 'recipe' from 1606 for making a Nebbiolo claré, an old French term for a lighter-structured, easy-drinking red. As Giuseppe Vaira says, "This wine is a time-capsule into an era when Nebbiolo wines tasted fresher, slightly crisp and smooth. This is a wine for people who are young at heart and curious about the forgotten past of Piemonte."
This wine is both fun & serious, and brightens up a lot of dishes, especially charcuterie boards and baked pastas! Try it at a cool 58F. Organically farmed.
ERIC GUIDO, VINOUS 93 POINTS - "A profoundly complex blend of crushed blackberries, violets, spice orange peels and sage makes the 2022 Nebbiolo Clarè J.C. a total knockout on the nose. Silky and enveloping with a pretty inner sweetness up front, this impresses further as a wave of wild berry fruit and exotic spice slowly saturates the palate. The 2022 finishes lightly structured yet full of mouth-watering tension. Licorice and purple-toned inner florals gradually fade. Its deep red color and tremendous depth make it hard to classify the Clarè J.C. as a Rosé. That said, its drinkability factor is off the charts."
The "Claré J.C." might seem to be a modern style, but there's a tradition for wines like this here in Piedmont. After learning that Thomas Jefferson had been enamored with a fizzy Piedmontese Nebbiolo, proprietor Giuseppe Vaira made this bottling according to a 'recipe' from 1606 for making a Nebbiolo claré, an old French term for a lighter-structured, easy-drinking red. As Giuseppe Vaira says, "This wine is a time-capsule into an era when Nebbiolo wines tasted fresher, slightly crisp and smooth. This is a wine for people who are young at heart and curious about the forgotten past of Piemonte."
This wine is both fun & serious, and brightens up a lot of dishes, especially charcuterie boards and baked pastas! Try it at a cool 58F. Organically farmed.
ERIC GUIDO, VINOUS 93 POINTS - "A profoundly complex blend of crushed blackberries, violets, spice orange peels and sage makes the 2022 Nebbiolo Clarè J.C. a total knockout on the nose. Silky and enveloping with a pretty inner sweetness up front, this impresses further as a wave of wild berry fruit and exotic spice slowly saturates the palate. The 2022 finishes lightly structured yet full of mouth-watering tension. Licorice and purple-toned inner florals gradually fade. Its deep red color and tremendous depth make it hard to classify the Clarè J.C. as a Rosé. That said, its drinkability factor is off the charts."
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