2022 G.D. Vajra Barolo Coste di Rose | 96 Point Single Vineyard Barolo

🔥 96 Point Single-Vineyard Barolo | One of Barolo's Best-Kept Secrets

Rose petals, red cherry and silky tannins — an extraordinarily elegant Barolo from a remarkable vineyard of almost pure sand

Coste di Rose. 47-day maceration. Large Slavonian oak. Pure Vajra elegance.

96 Points – JamesSuckling.com | 95 Points – The Wine Advocate

Exceptional Single-Vineyard Barolo | Perfume, Elegance & Silky Tannins

“One of the most seductive wines in the Vajra range — intensely perfumed, beautifully mineral and remarkably graceful, with the sandy soils of Coste di Rose giving Nebbiolo extraordinary finesse.”

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Brilliant ruby-garnet with beautiful transparency and youthful vibrancy.

Aroma: Exceptionally fragrant, opening with red cherry, amarena cherry, cranberry, strawberry and plum, followed by violet and delicate florals. With air come sweet spices, dark chocolate, nutmeg, clove, white pepper, fresh mint and orange zest.

Palate: Fresh, long and beautifully elegant. Juicy red and dark fruits are carried by lively acidity and a distinctive fine-grained tannin structure. There's excellent concentration, but Coste di Rose never feels heavy — the overriding impression is one of purity, perfume and finesse.

Finish: Long and mineral-driven, with red fruit, citrus and a beautiful crushed-limestone character lingering through the finish.

Critical Acclaim – 2022 Vintage

• 96 Points – JamesSuckling.com
• 95 Points – The Wine Advocate
• 94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
• 94 Points – Kerin O'Keefe

James Suckling's review particularly highlights the wine's floral character, crunchy red fruit and rose petals, with chalky yet silky tannins. The Wine Advocate's Monica Larner describes the 2022 as taut and elegant, with rose, violet, orange and cassis characters and greater structure than Coste di Rose typically displays.

Coste di Rose – One of Barolo's Best-Kept Secrets

This is where this wine becomes fascinating.

Coste di Rose

is a small MGA within the Comune di Barolo, sitting on a steep slope running from Bosco della Fava towards the border with Monforte d'Alba.

And its geology is extraordinary.

At the top of the vineyard sits an approximately:

Five-Metre-High Dune of Arenarie di Diano

—a dramatic reminder of just how sandy this vineyard is.

These soils are fundamental to the personality of the wine.

Where heavier clay-rich Barolo vineyards can produce more muscular and imposing Nebbiolo, Coste di Rose's sand contributes something completely different:

Perfume.

Silkiness.

Elegance.

Aromatic lift.

Vajra itself describes the vineyard as producing distinctive notes of cherry, rose petals, mint and sweet spices, with silky tannins and a juicy palate.

The Pretty Side of Barolo

If you think Barolo has to be enormous, tannic and difficult when young, Coste di Rose is a wonderful counterargument.

This is one of the most immediately seductive of Vajra's single-vineyard Barolos.

The sandy soils give the Nebbiolo an almost ethereal quality.

Think:

Rose Petals

Red Cherry

Wild Strawberry

Mint

Orange Zest

Sweet Spice

Crushed Limestone

It's Barolo built around beauty rather than brute force.

Vineyard & Winemaking

The 2022 is:

100% Nebbiolo

and the vineyard is sustainably and organically certified. Vajra has been committed to organic farming principles since Aldo Vajra began adopting them in 1971.

The grapes were harvested on:

27 September 2022

and underwent an extraordinary level of selection.

They were sorted manually:

First — directly on the vine

Second — as whole bunches on the sorting table

Third — berry by berry after destemming.

Then comes one of the numbers I love about this wine:

47 Days of Maceration

with submerged cap.

That's traditional, serious Barolo winemaking.

And maturation?

22 Months in Large 25hl Slavonian Oak Casks.

Not small new-oak barrels designed to dominate the wine.

Large traditional casks allow the Nebbiolo and vineyard to remain front and centre.

G.D. Vajra – One of Barolo's Benchmark Families

G.D. Vajra has become one of the reference-point estates of modern Barolo.

What's particularly compelling about Vajra is the balance between tradition and precision.

These aren't old-fashioned wines in the sense of being rustic.

Nor are they modern Barolos overwhelmed by oak.

Instead, the focus is on:

Perfume • Freshness • Vineyard • Fine Tannin • Elegance

And Coste di Rose might be the most seductive example of that philosophy.

2022 – Low Yields, Serious Concentration

2022 was warm and dry, but cooler September conditions arrived at exactly the right time for Nebbiolo.

Vajra describes the vintage as producing low yields but vibrant, flavourful and juicy wines.

That's important for Coste di Rose.

The vineyard naturally tends toward delicacy and perfume.

The 2022 vintage gives it an additional layer of structure and concentration, without sacrificing its signature elegance.

The Wine Advocate specifically notes that the 2022 is a little more structured and powerful than Coste di Rose typically is.

Food Pairings

• Tajarin with white truffle
• Porcini mushroom risotto
• Roast duck
• Veal with sage
• Brasato al Barolo
• Osso Buco
• Truffle pasta
• Roast lamb
• Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Mature hard cheeses

If drinking young, I'd give this at least an hour or two in a decanter and serve it in a large Burgundy or Nebbiolo glass.

Why We Love It

This might be the most immediately seductive of Vajra's cru Barolos.

You're getting:

100% Nebbiolo

Coste di Rose MGA

Extraordinary sandy Arenarie di Diano terroir

Triple-sorted fruit

47-day maceration

22 months in large Slavonian oak

96 Points – JamesSuckling.com

95 Points – The Wine Advocate

And the RRP?

$155.

That is seriously good buying.

In fact, Vajra's Australian importer currently lists the 2022 Coste di Rose at $164 RRP, while another Australian retailer has it at $165.

So at $155, the value proposition is even stronger.

And compared with the prices now being asked for many single-vineyard Barolos, this looks exceptional.

This isn't merely a step up from Albe.

It's a completely different expression of Barolo.

Albe gives you classic blended Barolo character.

Coste di Rose gives you terroir.

The sand.

The roses.

The silky tannins.

The extraordinary perfume.

That's what makes single-vineyard Barolo so fascinating.

Perfumed. Silky. Mineral. Ethereal.

The 2022 G.D. Vajra Barolo Coste di Rose is one of those wines that shows Barolo doesn't need enormous power to be profound.

96 James Suckling. 95 Wine Advocate. Single-Vineyard Barolo. $155 RRP.

👉 One of Barolo's best-kept-secret vineyards and, at this price, one of the most compelling wines in the entire G.D. Vajra range.