2022 G.D. Vajra Albe Barolo | 94 Point Benchmark Barolo

🔥 94 Point Barolo | One of Piedmont's Great Value Wines

Proper Barolo without the enormous price tag — perfume, structure and remarkable drinkability from one of Piedmont's benchmark families

High-altitude Nebbiolo. 22 months in large Slavonian oak. Outstanding value at $112.

94 Points – The Wine Front | 94 Points – JamesSuckling.com

Exceptional Value Barolo | Perfume, Freshness & Silky Tannins

“Everything we want from Barolo — roses, red fruit, citrus, spice and fine tannins — delivered with the purity and elegance that makes G.D. Vajra so compelling.”

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Luminous, translucent garnet red with the classic colour and brilliance of Nebbiolo.

Aroma: Beautifully aromatic with rose petals, ripe cherry, amarena and wildflowers, opening further to cedar, juniper, forest floor, lemon blossom and blood orange.

Palate: Fresh, energetic and wonderfully composed. Mountain strawberry and juicy darker fruits flow through a silky palate, with orange peel, spice and earthy complexity emerging underneath. The tannins are refined and finely grained rather than aggressive.

Finish: Clean, long and beautifully mineral, with red fruit, citrus, spice and fine Nebbiolo tannins lingering through the finish. Vajra's own 2022 technical sheet describes the wine as silky and refined, with a long mineral close.

Critical Acclaim – 2022 Vintage

• 94 Points – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
• 94 Points – JamesSuckling.com
• 94 Points – The Wine Advocate
• 93 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

Gary Walsh calls it a “really good Albe”, highlighting deeper red fruits, spice, orange peel, rosehip perfume, freshness and a clean, long finish. James Suckling found rose petals, clementine peel and raspberry with supple fruit and silky tannins.

Albe – Traditional Barolo with a Twist

The idea behind Albe is brilliant.

Rather than being a single-vineyard Barolo, it pays tribute to the traditional Barolo practice of blending vineyards to create balance and complexity.

The 2022 is made from:

100% Nebbiolo

grown across high-elevation Barolo DOCG vineyards sitting between:

380–480 metres above sea level.

The different vineyards range from south-southeast to southwest exposures. The name Albe, meaning sunrises, refers to the different moments when the morning sun reaches these elevated vineyards.

It's a beautiful concept.

Different vineyards. Different exposures. One complete expression of Barolo.

Traditional Winemaking

This is proper Barolo winemaking.

The fruit was harvested between 23 September and 12 October 2022 and underwent extraordinarily rigorous selection:

First selection in the vineyard

Second selection as whole bunches

Third selection berry by berry after destemming.

Fermentation took place in custom vertical vats, with gentle punch-downs and pump-overs.

Then came an exceptionally long:

36-day average maceration

including partial submerged-cap fermentation.

And the maturation?

22 months in large Slavonian oak casks

of 40, 50 and 75 hectolitres.

No attempt to smother the Nebbiolo in new oak.

The emphasis is on:

Fruit • Perfume • Tannin • Terroir • Time

Exactly where it should be.

G.D. Vajra – One of Barolo's Benchmark Family Estates

G.D. Vajra has become one of the most respected family names in modern Barolo.

The Vajra family's philosophy combines traditional Piedmontese winemaking with meticulous vineyard management and an extraordinary focus on biodiversity.

Aldo Vajra was an early adopter of organic farming in Piedmont, beginning in 1971, and the vineyards are now sustainably and organically certified.

That attention to the vineyard translates directly into the wines.

They have purity.

They have perfume.

They have freshness.

And they age beautifully.

2022 – A Different Kind of Barolo Vintage

2022 was warm and dry, producing relatively low yields.

But the crucial change came in September, when temperatures dropped and created much better conditions for the final ripening of Nebbiolo.

Vajra describes the resulting wines as:

Vibrant, flavourful and juicy.

That's an important distinction.

This isn't an enormously austere Barolo that needs 15 years before you dare pull the cork.

The 2022 Albe has genuine Barolo structure, but there's also generosity and accessibility.

Gary Walsh specifically notes that it's already good to drink, while James Suckling says:

Drink now or hold.

That's extremely useful Barolo.

Food Pairings

• Tajarin with mushroom or truffle
• Pappardelle with slow-cooked beef ragù
• Osso Buco
• Braised beef cheek
• Roast duck
• Porcini risotto
• Veal
• Truffle dishes
• Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Mature hard cheeses

Give it a good decant if drinking young and serve in a large Burgundy or Nebbiolo glass.

Why We Love It

This is where Albe becomes almost impossible to ignore.

Look at what you're getting:

100% Nebbiolo

High-altitude Barolo vineyards at 380–480 metres

Triple-sorted fruit

36-day average maceration

22 months in large Slavonian oak

Organically certified vineyards

94 Points – The Wine Front

94 Points – JamesSuckling.com

94 Points – The Wine Advocate

And the RRP?

$112.

For proper Barolo from a producer of Vajra's quality, that's seriously compelling.

The Wine Front itself lists the Australian price at around $114, while current Australian retail is around the same level.

And that's what makes Albe so important in the Vajra range.

You don't need to spend $200, $300 or $500 to understand why people become obsessed with Barolo.

This gives you the real thing:

Roses.

Cherry.

Blood orange.

Spice.

Earth.

Fine Nebbiolo tannin.

Minerality.

And genuine Barolo pedigree.

Perfumed. Structured. Silky. Authentic.

The 2022 G.D. Vajra Albe Barolo is one of those wines that proves serious Barolo can still offer genuine value.

94 Wine Front. 94 James Suckling. Barolo DOCG. $112 RRP.

👉 One of the smartest buys in Barolo — delicious with air now, but with more than enough structure to reward a decade in the cellar.