Vajra Piedmont Wine Tasting with Special Guest Francesca Vajra

“It’s a celebration. Clap, clap, bravo./Lobster and shrimp
and a glass of moscato.”
– Drake on Trey Songz’ hit track “I Invented Sex.”

And Moscato is one of the hottest trending white varietals in the US today.  You can find the best examples of this wine from the Piedmont and most of them are under $20 per bottle.

Thursday, April 20 7:30 PM
VINTAGE PIEDMONT WINE TASTING BACK TO 1978 ..INCLUDING GAJA, PRUNOTTO, VIETTI AND MORE  We have a GREAT vintage Piedmont tasting this week featuring wines going back to the 1978  vintage.  Check out the line-up at Vintage Piedmont Wine Tasting back to 1978 including Gaja, Prunotto, Vietti and more - Wine Watch

And if you have been paying attention you know that the Piedmont is my favorite wine regions on earth.  So, when our good friends at Winebow asked if we wanted to host a wine tasting with Francesca Vajra, I immediately put the date on the calendar and although we already have an event in the Wine Bar we have space in the Wine Cave on Wednesday, May 3rd for our good friends from the Piedmont.

For my taste if you would build a perfect grape varietal it would be Nebbiolo. It has the nuance and spice of Pinot Noir with the structure and tannic backbone of Bordeaux and other Cabernet Sauvignon based wines.  Vajra is one of Piedmont’s best kept secrets. Their wines are consistently scoring as high as any others in the Piedmont and their price is a fraction of what their competitors charge.  Come and join us as we enter a world of sublime hand-crafted, artisan wines of the very highest level and we welcome the next generation of this family whose history goes back over 125 years in the region.

The fee for this event which includes dinner is $225 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservation if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

Vajra Piedmont Wine Tasting with Special Guest Francesca Vajra
Wednesday, May 3rd
7:30pm

G.D. VAJRA 'N. S. DELLA NEVE' ROSE SPUMANTE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
2021 LUIGI BAUDANA 'DRAGON' LANGHE BIANCO, PIEDMONT, ITALY
2021 G.D. VAJRA PINOT NERO LANGHE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
2021 G.D. VAJRA VIOLA DELLE VIOLE BARBERA D'ALBA SUPERIORE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
2018 G.D. VAJRA ALBE, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
2018 G.D. VAJRA BRICCO DELLE VIOLE, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
2018 G.D. VAJRA RAVERA, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
2022 G.D. VAJRA MOSCATO D'ASTI DOCG, PIEDMONT, ITALY

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Octopus Carpaccio with Candied Lemon and lavender Aioli
Venison Tartar with Mustard Aioli and Parmesan Crisps
Curried Lamb Stew served over Coco nib Couscous with Goat Cheese
Fruit Tart

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $225 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about G.D. Vajra:

The Vajra family has farmed Bricco delle Viole, the highest cru in Comune di Barolo, since the 1880s. At the young age of fifteen, Aldo Vajra embraced the dream to revive his family legacy. Displaying a vision and commitment belying his young age he took over the estate in 1968, turning a new page.

Aldo then acquired the first organic certification of the region  in 1971, then created private biotype selections  aka selezioni massali of Nebbiolo and Dolcetto, at the same time pioneered the renaissance of Freisa, a noble yet forgotten local grape 1980 and the cultivation of Rhine Riesling in Piemonte from the 1985 vintage.

Today, the Vajra family continues to be a leader in vineyard research focusing on the influences of soil and global warming.  The winery is a leader in the rediscovery of Chiaretto di Nebbiolo and the forgotten wines of the 17th century, a time long before Barolo was created.  They have created two limited-production wines: “N.S. della Neve” a traditional-method rosé brut nature and “Claré JC”, a partial whole-cluster fermentation of 100% Nebbiolo. 

One of the determining factors that leads to the style of these wines are high elevation vineyards which give the Vajra wines a unique freshness and also give the wines their ability to express finesse and remarkable complexity as well as power.

This attention to details and their dedication to preserving nature, uncompromised quality is always the goal of Aldo and Milena, now joined by their children Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro ensures that the family traditions will continue for years to come at Vajra.

All the wines from G. D. Vajra available at Wine Watch

G.D. VAJRA 'N. S. DELLA NEVE' ROSE SPUMANTE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $30.50     Your Price: $26.84

In 1787 Thomas Jefferson, the ambassador to France at the time, came to Italy to study the farming of rice. Stopping in Turin he tasted Nebbiolo for the first time. Giving us one of the most authoritative testimonies about the taste of the time, he describes this wine as “about as sweet as the silky Madeira, as astringent on the palate as Bordeaux, and as brisk as Champagne.” Being in love with wine, we were not able to resist to challenge ourselves with a Metodo Classico that embraces this ancient and forgotten history.
VARIETY: 50% Nebbiolo, 50% Pinot Noir.
VINEYARD AND TERROIR: Nostra Signora Della Neve is the most important vineyard in the blend of this Metodo Classico. It is located in Roddino, at the confluence of the Barolo area and the Alta Langa. A magnificent vineyard, steep, entirely worked by hand from pruning to harvest. The soil, calcareous and poor, forces the vines to dig deep, giving the wine an extraordinary minerality.
HARVEST AND WINEMAKING: Harvest takes place between the second half of August and early September. The harvest, as well as the transport in small crates, are manually carried out to preserve the whole fruit. Nostra Signora Della Neve is a rosé de saignée. The wort is drained after a short maceration that allows us to obtain the delicate pink color. In the spring following to the harvest begins the second fermentation, followed by a rest on the lees of around 48-60 months.
TASTING NOTES: A fragrant sparkling wine, unveiling in the nose and palate the decisive character of the Nebbiolo and the gentle elegance of Pinot Noir. Fresh personality and an important structure, ideally served as aperitif paired with raw fish and and cold cuts, and continues to surprise also together with the following courses.

2021 LUIGI BAUDANA 'DRAGON' LANGHE BIANCO, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $21.00     Your Price: $17.85
(90 Points) A blend of mostly Chardonnay, with Sauvignon Blanc, Nascetta and a touch of Riesling, the Luigi Baudana 2021 Langhe Bianco Dragon (in a screw-cap bottle) is super fresh and zesty with lovely citrus, white almond and fresh honeysuckle. The wine's lean and direct style would pair with sushi or a grilled fish with olive oil and lemon.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2021 G.D. VAJRA PINOT NERO LANGHE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $30.00     Your Price: $26.40
DESCRIPTION: We know that when one door closes, another one opens. The prohibition of planting Nebbiolo at an altitude of 497 meters, made the desire blossom to confront ourselves with a delicate variety like Pinot Noir. The result is a humble tribute to Pinot, in Piedmont style and limited production.
VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir, partly clonal selection and partly massal selection.
VINEYARD AND TERROIR: From the highest part of the Bricco delle Viole, also called Bricco di Vergne, between Barolo and La Morra. Here, the eye oversees the Alta Langa to the East and Monviso on the West.
VINTAGE: Fresh vintage and extremely slow ripening, which allowed us to capture the expression of terroir and minerality of all varieties. A mild winter and an early spring, with early vegetative growth. The summer was characterized by good water retention in the soils and cool breezy nights. Very late harvest.
TASTING NOTES: With an intense and bright color, the Pinot Nero 2014 is fresher than the previous vintage. The rich structure is accompanied by great delicacy and aromatic finesse, playing with the dominant note of marasc

2021 G.D. VAJRA LANGHE ROSSO, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $16.2       Your Price: $14.30
G.D. Vajra Nebbiolo Langhe displays a bright ruby red color. Perfumes are vibrant, with a floral bouquet of rose petals, violets and fresh berries, hints of dark fruit, lavender and mint. Elegant and complex on the palate with layers of crunchy red fruits, orange peel, sweet spices with earthy and mineral undertones.

2018 G.D. VAJRA LANGHE NEBBIOLO, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $23.00     Your Price: $20.24          Quantity in Stock: 2
(90 Points) Showing a young juicy side to Nebbiolo, this smooth, savory red opens with aromas of ripe black-skinned fruit, baking spice, eucalyptus and the barest whiff of truffle. The round, succulent palate delivers black cherry jam, white pepper and licorice alongside chewy tannins. Drink through 2021. Wine Enthusiast

2021 G.D. VAJRA BARBERA D'ALBA, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $24.50     Your Price: $21.56

(91 Points) Here’s another food-friendly wine from beautiful Piedmont. The 2021 Barbera d'Alba shows a dark purplish hue and saturated fruit flavors of dried blackberry and black cherry. There are hints of crushed mineral or oyster shell as well. The wine’s medium thickness would work across a breaded veal steak. Fruit is sourced across various sites with different soil types.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2021 G.D. VAJRA VIOLA DELLE VIOLE BARBERA D'ALBA SUPERIORE, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $43.25     Your Price: $38.06
(93 Points) Just bottled the 2021 Barbera d'Alba Superiore is fabulous. Rich and inky, with tremendous depth, the 2021 is so vibrant in the glass. Red/purplish fruit, lavender, sweet spice and mocha are all dialed up, with a kiss of French oak that adds raciness.  Vinous

2018 G.D. VAJRA ALBE, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
Price: $40.25     Your Price: $35.42
(93 Points) This wine consistently delivers one of the greatest values to be found in Italian wine. The G.D. Vajra 2018 Barolo Albe has all its cards in play as an immediately enjoyable and extremely food-friendly Nebbiolo. This really is the top of the category in that sense. With straightforward winemaking (fermentation is in steel and aging in large Slavonian oak casks), the wine offers bold cherry, wild plum and plenty of fragrant blue flower and violet. This vintage has the added benefit of softly textured richness.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2015 VAJRA BAROLO BRICCO DELLE VIOLE
Price: $88.25     Your Price: $77.66          Quantity in Stock: 5
(94 Points) The 2015 Barolo Bricco Delle Viole is a delicate and pure expression of Nebbiolo. The wine shows its naked beauty with pride, provocatively semi-dressed in lacy, floral aromas of wild rose and pressed violets. At this young age, the wine exhibits a gentle mix of fruity and floral characteristics that merge into the bouquet with intrepidness. The fruit from this vineyard within the Barolo township has maintained its freshness and crispness despite the heat of the 2015 growing season. I think it would be a lovely match for a veal piccata and cream sauce, with parsley and capers.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2018 G.D. VAJRA BRICCO DELLE VIOLE, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
Price: $91.50     Your Price: $80.52
DESCRIPTION: Among the historical vineyards of Barolo, Bricco delle Viole is the highest and the closest to the Alps. It rises from 400 to 480 meters above sea level, on the Western ridge of the village. Its name, “Hill of Violets”, originates from the flowers that blossom early, thanks to the perfect south exposure. Up above the fogs, Bricco delle Viole enjoys the earliest sunrise and the last sunset every day. Thanks to this pure light, a dramatic diuturnal temperature range and the age of its vines dating back to 1931 Bricco delle Viole generates a profound Barolo of bright aromatics, chiseled tannins and subtle minerality.
2019 is a vintage that shows many nuances of Bricco delle Viole: beyond signature verticality, the wine offers high tones laced with mineral nuances and plenty of energy and youth. Balanced, still quite introvert, like a watercolor drop that spreads on canvas slowly over time.
VARIETY: 100% Nebbiolo.
VINEYARD AND TERROIR: Bricco delle Viole MGA, Comune di Barolo.
GROWING: In 1971, Aldo Vajra, then still a university student, was one of the earliest to adopt organic farming in Piemonte. Vineyards have been nurtured, and soil preserved, by grassing and spontaneous cover crop for almost 50 years now.
They are sustainable and organic certified. With an incredible ratio of manual work per hectare, farming at Vajra is a labor of love and “recipe-free” attention. Intense research is also placed into monitoring and improving the biodiversity of both flora and fauna not just in the vineyards, but also in the winery fields and forests.
VINTAGE: 2019 was marked by an early bud break, late flowering and a slow and progressive ripening. These elements turned the vintage into one of the longest and latest of the decade. Early winter snows and moderate rain falls throughout the year preserved the water reservoirs and laid the conditions for a balanced phenolic ripening. Thankfully, the Langhe were spared from both the April frost and the dramatic heat of late June. A severe hailstorm hit some vineyards on September 5th. Low yields since flowering, slow ripening, late harvest, excellent phenolic maturity and a great acidity spine: it all reminds of 2013. We foresee the potential for a truly remarkable vintage.
HARVEST AND WINEMAKING: Bricco delle Viole is one of the last vineyards to be picked. In 2019, fruit was picked between October 11th and 23rd. Grapes were orted manually three times: directly on the vine, as whole clusters on the sorting tables, and lastly as single berries after destemming. A traditional vinification was carried in custom-designed vertical tini, with gentle punch downs and rinsing of the cap, followed by an extensive period of maceration under submerged cap (cappello sommerso). It lasted up to 31 days. Malolactic fermentation occurred in stainless steel the following spring. The wine was bottled on July 27th, 2022.
AGING: 28 months in large Slavonian casks of 25 and 50 hectoliters. Bottled on July 27th 2022.
TASTING NOTES: Ruby red with garnet reflections. On the nose, 2019 Barolo Bricco delle Viole is beautifully layered: violet flowers, marasca cherries, candies and wet stones all grace this effusive and evocative Barolo. The palate reveals the signature verticality of Bricco delle Viole combined with an  incredible complexity, and expands with velvety tannins and a profound finish

2018 G.D. VAJRA RAVERA, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
Price: $97.25     Your Price: $85.58

(93 Points) This supple, elegant red leads with bright cherry, raspberry and floral aromas and flavors. Reveals details of tar and eucalyptus as this firms up on the lingering aftertaste.  Wine Spectator

2018 LUIGI BAUDANA 'BAUDANA', BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
Price: $99.00     Your Price: $87.12
(94 Points) Rich, exuding cherry, raspberry, plum and floral notes, with iron, tobacco and tar accents lending complexity. Shows terrific balance and depth, with a tightly wound structure that bodes well for future development.  - Wine Spectator

2018 LUIGI BAUDANA CERRETTA, BAROLO DOCG, ITALY
Price: $99.00     Your Price: $87.12
(94 Points) The 2018 Barolo Cerretta offers good focus with a sharp and linear style that gives way to forest berry, wild rose, rusty nail and crushed stone. The wine is extremely direct, and that's what sets it apart. In that sense, this wine is faithful to the characteristics of Serralunga d'Alba. The soils of Cerretta see a layer of white marl on the surface and red clay further down; that's where those rusty sensations must come from. Best After 2024 -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2022 G.D. VAJRA MOSCATO D'ASTI DOCG, PIEDMONT, ITALY
Price: $19.25     Your Price: $16.94
DESCRIPTION: Moscato is a beautifully aromatic variety that is deeply rooted in the winemaking heritage of Piemonte. We pick our grapes at full ripening, when the berries start to be gold in color. Our dream is to bring all the perfumes, the freshness and the texture intact to the bottle.
VARIETY: 100% Moscato bianco.
VINEYARD AND TERROIR: Steep, old estate vineyards.
VINTAGE: 2018 was marked by an abundant flowering, a gradual ripening and one of the latest harvests of the decade. Precipitations were exceptional during the entire year, as the dedication of our vineyard team. Such determined work and a meticulous sorting gifted us with healthy grapes, with delicate perfumes and a juice that was pink already upon crushing. This harvest was particularly favoreable for the best exposed vineyards, those at high elevation, and the late ripening varietals - but it is giving us great surprises also on the whites and Dolcetto. All the wines are fragrant, deliciously aromatic, with elegant tannins. 2018 reminds 2016 and perhaps even more 2004, and promises to become an elegant and classic vintage.
HARVEST AND WINEMAKING: Moscato harvest starts usually around the end of August. Picking decisions are individual to each site. Aldo always gives few more days of ripening to this variety, which is a challenging decision in a crucial period yet rewarded by the beautiful fruits. Cold settling followed by a slow fermentation at low temperature. Fermentation is stopped by drop of temperature, and the wine is kept refrigerated until bottling.
TASTING NOTES: Beautiful soft color with green reflections. Aromas of fruit with yellow flesh: apricot, peach, exotic fruits. Then elderflower, pear and a hint of sage. Delicate and persistent bubbles, refreshing and cleansing the palate. The balance between sweetness and freshness continues in a long and creamy finish, surprisingly savory.