#26 WINE SPECTATOR TOP 100 WINES OF 2023
WINE SPECTATOR 96 POINTS - "A juicy Barolo, with vibrant acidity and a fluid profile that exudes cherry, raspberry, mown hay, mineral and eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Tight yet long, with excellent potential. 1,250 cases made."
WINE ADVOCATE 97+ POINTS - "The last wine poured at my tasting at the winery is the G.D. Vajra 2019 Barolo Bricco delle Viole. With its high vantage point in the hills west of Barolo, Bricco delle Viole is a world apart in terms of soils (with Sant'Agata marl and fossils) and even harvest times. Slow and careful ripening like the kind that characterizes fruit in 2019 renders a very delicate and ethereal expression with floral tones, wild mint and licorice. This organic wine is solid in build and structure. Indeed, Isidoro Vaira remarks that Nebbiolo tannins have changed since the 1970s and 1980s. Because of climate change and stylistic preference, they are more polished and accessible today."
JEB DUNNUCK 97 POINTS - "Jeweled in appearance, the 2019 Barolo Bricco Delle Viole may be the best wine I have tried yet from Vajra. Its gorgeous and alluring perfume of fresh roses is followed by a Burgundian, elegant red with incredible length and no harsh edges, fine and present tannins, and beautiful, graceful concentration. It is drinking well now, and I will be trying to get my hands on as much of this as possible. Drink 2025-2045."
VINOUS, ANTONIO GALLONI 97 POINTS - "The 2019 Barolo Bricco delle Viole offers a beguiling combination of depth and energy. Dark and potent in the glass, yet also quite reticent, the 2019 is going to take a number of years to come around. Black cherry, graphite, crushed rocks, mint, sage and incense all open in the glass, but only with quite a bit of reticence. I especially like the way the 2019 opens up on its resonant, expansive finish, but it remains a decidedly brooding Barolo whose best days are far off in the future."
Off in the southwestern corner of the Barolo zone, Bricco delle Viole is a gently sloping vineyard facing the warm, southwestern sun, at relatively high altitudes and openly exposed to cooling air from the mountains. It has some of the latest harvests in the season. Along with G.D. Vajra's deft winemaking, the Bricco delle Viole bottling shows a distinctly soft, delicate character in its fleshiness and structure, with aromatic beauty and length.
This is a family-run labor of love; founded by Aldo Vajra, his first release happened to be from the troublesome 1972 vintage. Instead of giving up and abandoning the grapes on the vines, he made a wine anyway and never looked back. Remaining obstinate in his vision of what great Barolo should be, he refused to succumb to the increasing popularity of aging in French oak, especially with new barrels, which he felt would detract from the elegant and pure expression of the Nebbiolo grape. He was well-aware of the modern improvements in the wine cellars, though, and through the years earned the reputation of being "the most modern of the traditionalists and the most traditional of the modernists." He now runs the winery with his wife and three children, who are taking the family estates into the future. It's a testament to the character of this family that the small but well-respected winemakers, Luigi and Fiorina Baudana, felt comfortable letting the Vajras take over their estate in 2009, and with it their legacy (no small thing in a region that takes such things seriously).
The Vajras farm organically, make use of long fermentations during which the skins and juice gently mingle, and age the wines in large Slavonian oak barrels that impart only subtle wood notes.
The Bricco delle Viole ("The Hill of Violets") vineyard is the highest altitude of the historical Barolo sites and the wines typically carry a particularly bright floral perfume and fine tannin that gives them a more accessible quality in youth.
The estate of GD Vajra is situated in Vergne, the highest village in the Commune of Barolo. Its vineyards are planted with Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera at heights of 350-400 meters, which result in distinctive and aromatic wines. The Vajra family is a group of dedicated, passionate winegrowers, who are also grounded and sensitive to the human role in winemaking. Their philosophy remains faithful to the traditional and authentic wines of Piemonte, and in essence they regard themselves as the instruments that enable nature and the environment full self-expression through their wines.
WINE SPECTATOR 96 POINTS - "A juicy Barolo, with vibrant acidity and a fluid profile that exudes cherry, raspberry, mown hay, mineral and eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Tight yet long, with excellent potential. 1,250 cases made."
WINE ADVOCATE 97+ POINTS - "The last wine poured at my tasting at the winery is the G.D. Vajra 2019 Barolo Bricco delle Viole. With its high vantage point in the hills west of Barolo, Bricco delle Viole is a world apart in terms of soils (with Sant'Agata marl and fossils) and even harvest times. Slow and careful ripening like the kind that characterizes fruit in 2019 renders a very delicate and ethereal expression with floral tones, wild mint and licorice. This organic wine is solid in build and structure. Indeed, Isidoro Vaira remarks that Nebbiolo tannins have changed since the 1970s and 1980s. Because of climate change and stylistic preference, they are more polished and accessible today."
JEB DUNNUCK 97 POINTS - "Jeweled in appearance, the 2019 Barolo Bricco Delle Viole may be the best wine I have tried yet from Vajra. Its gorgeous and alluring perfume of fresh roses is followed by a Burgundian, elegant red with incredible length and no harsh edges, fine and present tannins, and beautiful, graceful concentration. It is drinking well now, and I will be trying to get my hands on as much of this as possible. Drink 2025-2045."
VINOUS, ANTONIO GALLONI 97 POINTS - "The 2019 Barolo Bricco delle Viole offers a beguiling combination of depth and energy. Dark and potent in the glass, yet also quite reticent, the 2019 is going to take a number of years to come around. Black cherry, graphite, crushed rocks, mint, sage and incense all open in the glass, but only with quite a bit of reticence. I especially like the way the 2019 opens up on its resonant, expansive finish, but it remains a decidedly brooding Barolo whose best days are far off in the future."
Off in the southwestern corner of the Barolo zone, Bricco delle Viole is a gently sloping vineyard facing the warm, southwestern sun, at relatively high altitudes and openly exposed to cooling air from the mountains. It has some of the latest harvests in the season. Along with G.D. Vajra's deft winemaking, the Bricco delle Viole bottling shows a distinctly soft, delicate character in its fleshiness and structure, with aromatic beauty and length.
This is a family-run labor of love; founded by Aldo Vajra, his first release happened to be from the troublesome 1972 vintage. Instead of giving up and abandoning the grapes on the vines, he made a wine anyway and never looked back. Remaining obstinate in his vision of what great Barolo should be, he refused to succumb to the increasing popularity of aging in French oak, especially with new barrels, which he felt would detract from the elegant and pure expression of the Nebbiolo grape. He was well-aware of the modern improvements in the wine cellars, though, and through the years earned the reputation of being "the most modern of the traditionalists and the most traditional of the modernists." He now runs the winery with his wife and three children, who are taking the family estates into the future. It's a testament to the character of this family that the small but well-respected winemakers, Luigi and Fiorina Baudana, felt comfortable letting the Vajras take over their estate in 2009, and with it their legacy (no small thing in a region that takes such things seriously).
The Vajras farm organically, make use of long fermentations during which the skins and juice gently mingle, and age the wines in large Slavonian oak barrels that impart only subtle wood notes.
The Bricco delle Viole ("The Hill of Violets") vineyard is the highest altitude of the historical Barolo sites and the wines typically carry a particularly bright floral perfume and fine tannin that gives them a more accessible quality in youth.
The estate of GD Vajra is situated in Vergne, the highest village in the Commune of Barolo. Its vineyards are planted with Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera at heights of 350-400 meters, which result in distinctive and aromatic wines. The Vajra family is a group of dedicated, passionate winegrowers, who are also grounded and sensitive to the human role in winemaking. Their philosophy remains faithful to the traditional and authentic wines of Piemonte, and in essence they regard themselves as the instruments that enable nature and the environment full self-expression through their wines.
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