Aldo and Milena Vaira established G.D.Vajra in 1972 with some of the best vineyards in the Langhe. In total they own 25 hectares of vines with a further 10 hectares contracted for their production. They produce on average 100,000 bottles a year. Aldo Vajra and his children Giuseppe, Francesca and Isidoro aim to make wines that express the terroir of their vineyards, which are located in the Vergne zone of Barolo. The wines reflect their maker’s highly individual and personal style, they exhibit great nuance, elegance, and understatement, just like the man himself.

Albe is a tribute to the masters of the 1950s and 60s, to those winemakers who had the vision and the taste to blend some of the most amazing crus in order to achieve a Barolo of balance and charm. The high-elevation vineyards for Barolo Albe have an exposure ranging from south-south-east to south-west. The grapes are usually picked in the second half of the Nebbiolo harvest. Vinification is made in custom-designed vertical vats, with gentle punch down and pumpovers. Maceration lasts 25 days on average. Malolactic conversion occurs in stainless steel the following spring. Albe rests on average between 30 and 36 months in large (40, 50 and 75hL) Slavonian oak casks. The wine is usually racked once a year. Blending is decided in the spring prior to bottling.

Vajra's 2014 Barolo Albe is a pretty wine, but it is also a touch slender. Part of that is, of course, attributable to the vintage, but in recent years the Albe has been stylistically more similar to the other Barolos in the range than it was at the outset. Suggestions of sweet tobacco, cinnamon, dried flowers and black cherry are layered in this supple, easygoing Barolo. Drink it over the next handful of years. Tasted: February 2018; Rating: 90 points. Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

A tribute to local tradition, the 2014 Barolo Albe represents an assembly of fruit from various vineyard plots throughout the area. Winemaking is classic in approach with a 25-day maceration period and aging in large Slavonian oak casks. This vintage shows silky, fine lines and a more accessible approach for near and medium- term drinking. I would recommend a few more years of bottle aging, however, to allow the wine the time to grow in texture and mouthfeel. Tasted: June 2018; Rating: 91 Points; Monica Larner; Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate