Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
This delicious early release from the venerable G.D. Vajra estate is clearly a harbinger for great things to come from the 2020 Piedmont vintage. Vajra’s Langhe Rosso – the estate’s creative and stunningly affordable regional blend – has become a newsletter staple and client favorite over the past decade. A blend of primarily Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera, with deft touches of Albarossa, Freisa, and Pinot Noir to add verve and complexity, Vajra’s 2020 Rosso radiates a transparent rusty cherry robe in the glass followed by vibrant aromas of red plums, pomegranate seeds, black tea, tobacco, Szechuan peppercorns, and dusty soil. Brisk, fresh, mildly tannic, and bristling with energy, the wine conveys a core of tangy cherry, loganberry, and red currant fruit before transitioning to a long finish marked by notes of menthol, tobacco, gentian root, cinnamon, and leafy underbrush. The combination of dazzling aromas, fresh red and black fruits, food-friendly tannins, authentic Piemontese character, and everyday affordability makes Vajra’s Langhe Rosso a lovely choice at the table with pasta tossed with a butter and sage sauce, grilled burgers, salumi, beef, lamb, sausages, pizza – anything that calls for a zesty, versatile red. Enjoy now and over the next five years.
Sustainably Farmed
A March 2022 newsletter selection
