Wine guide
G. D. Vajra
As wine investors look beyond Bordeaux and Burgundy for that something special, attention is
being turned to Italy, and notably the Piemonte region. Hitherto secret vineyards are beginning
to gather momentum (not to mention column inches) making 2019 Piedmont’s time to shine.
A traditional trinity
G.D. Vajra is one such estate. Known to Italian wine investors already for its consistently high
quality of Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera, the estate is perhaps one of the best examples of how
a Piedmontese product can be almost Burgundian in taste. Intense, pure and finely complex in
structure, it is not hard to see how this comparison is made!
The estate itself dates back to the 1920s when Giuseppe Vajra purchased the land with the hope of exploiting it for commercial reasons. However, Italian bureaucracy and a world war got in the way and it was not until the 1960s and the advent of DOCG that Giuseppe’s son Aldo could begin farming his 40-hectares. G.D. Vajra’s first production was in 1978. Adhering to tradition, Giuseppe ages his Barolo in botti (barrel) for three and a half years prior to bottling, though new techniques have been introduced over time, thanks to Giuseppe’s son and third generation. Vajra defends his approach, saying that "traditional wines are more elegant, with more delicate perfumes, leaner, somewhat difficult, but offering more pleasure at the table." Vajra’s land is particularly well-suited for this way of thinking: rich in chalk with rocky outcrops, grapes ripen later than other crus, giving fragrant and particularly long-lived wines.
The estate itself dates back to the 1920s when Giuseppe Vajra purchased the land with the hope of exploiting it for commercial reasons. However, Italian bureaucracy and a world war got in the way and it was not until the 1960s and the advent of DOCG that Giuseppe’s son Aldo could begin farming his 40-hectares. G.D. Vajra’s first production was in 1978. Adhering to tradition, Giuseppe ages his Barolo in botti (barrel) for three and a half years prior to bottling, though new techniques have been introduced over time, thanks to Giuseppe’s son and third generation. Vajra defends his approach, saying that "traditional wines are more elegant, with more delicate perfumes, leaner, somewhat difficult, but offering more pleasure at the table." Vajra’s land is particularly well-suited for this way of thinking: rich in chalk with rocky outcrops, grapes ripen later than other crus, giving fragrant and particularly long-lived wines.
Big, beautiful Barolo
All savvy wine investors will already be aware that Barolo is the next big thing, and this is a
producer that needs to be your radar. Vajra’s Bricco del Viole is surely his flagship product;
and if the 2014 is anything to go by (94/100), we can expect marvellous things from the estate.
The jewel in his crown, however, is the 2010. Vastly popular in the US, Q2 2019 had entry level
prices at around €90 per bottle for the vintage, up almost 30% in 24-months.
Notable facts and vintages
- Equal parts inspired by the cellar’s stained glass windows and reaction to modernist Barolo bottles being more traditionally labelled, Vajra’s colourful Freisa Kye and Albe labels serve as a counter-cultural illustration of the “hardcore traditional” wine inside.
- In summer 2015, Stephen Spurrier offered his view that “… the single vineyard Bricco delle Viole is, for me, the Lafite of Barolo.” In The Somm Journal article “The Great Wines of Piedmont”. Antonio Galloni’s Vinous awarded the 2014 vintage 96 points, and prices are rising to the tune of +14% for the one year period since May 2018.
- Wine Spectator’s Bruce Sanderson noted the 2015 vintage for showing “impressive potential in terms of quality and longevity” while Antonio Galloni’s Vinous sings 95 points worth of praise for Vajra’s 2015 Ravera; “The 2015 Barolo Ravera captures all the best the vintage has to offer.” A single bottle typically setting investors back €60 (before tax) in the months leading up to its release in late 2019.