Decanted off a small amount of fine sediment, drank over the evening. Nice balance of ripe red fruit, cherry, and the more savory tar and balsamic notes. Medium+ body, fresh with chewy tannins, this is youthful, but giving pleasure after some air. Long finish. Very nice, just getting started but ready to drink now with decant.
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Drinking really well, like most '12's are at the moment. Complex aromatics of sweet tobacco, menthol, mulberry and cherry. The palate is deep and savoury, with a dark core and a cool, ironstone base. It plays in that perfect place between sweet fruit and savoury nuance and there's still moderate tannic, chew. Length is good.
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Darker and deeper on the nose than the Cerretta, with black and red cherry, spices, floral and leather notes. Close to full bodied (14.5% ABV) with red and black cherry upfront that are more rounded and expressive than the Cerretta. Mid-body doesn't have quite the depth of the Cerretta, but seems noticeably more elegant and balanced. The fruit through the mid-body is not only already showing quite well, but the acidity and tannins on the backside (along with tart red cherry, minerals, spices, leather and earth) are showing a lot of positive integration potential (meaning these elements are already coming together well, with the clear promise of more improvement to come). The Cerretta might have a bit more complexity at this stage, but the Baudana is ahead in terms of fruit expression, current elegance and fruit-structure balance. At almost 10 years young, this wine is already showing well (with four hours open), but with enough future potential to warrant holding just a bit longer (if you can). I'll plan to open my next bottle in late Q2 2023.
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High quality Barolo that needs to breathe! It sports a riveting bouquet and profoundly layered, texturally enthralling palate. Anything less than an eight hour decant essentially constitutes wasting a spectacular wine. Interesting to experience this terroir in a restrained year. It will improve and last through 2035+. 94-95...96?
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Old Barolo at Tim's (Tim's): Medium ruby, garnet at the rim. Expressive ripe black cherry and anise and sage. Dry, 14.5% alcohol (feels only 14%), medium plus acid, high tannins - a bit bitter still, but in a really satisfying phenolic way. Shows promise!
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Quite open and forward on nose and palate. Generous fruit, ripe tannins, well integrated acidity. Lacks a bit of depth and intensity compared to the best Barolos at this tasting. Good length. 90-91+
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tasted at Jancis Robinson event in NYC. no formal notes other than this was approachable and excellent compared to many other tannic and shut down wines.
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Visit to G.D. Vajra with Francesca Vaira (Vergne, Barolo): G.D. Vajra now owns Luigi Baudana and makes these wines. A spicy, more red fruited nose. For me, a lesser Barolo than the two Vajra Baroli. Lighter bodied with gentle tannins, but a little more structure on the finish. Quite pretty and reasonably generous with good acidity.
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At the winery: Brown sauce, more rose petal florality than Ravera; silky entry but with grippy dry tannins; tingly long finish, high acid, pot-pouri, savory, intense. Powerhouse w/elegance.
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Dinner with the Vajra Family (Locanda dell’Arco, Cissone, Cuneo, Italy): Dark black fruit nose. Incredibly intense in the mouth. Lacks the lift of the Bricco delle Viole, but has that classic Serralunga intensity. A very different wine from the Bricco delle Viole, but also quite good.
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6/3/2023 - Maphill01 Likes this wine:
Decanted off a small amount of fine sediment, drank over the evening. Nice balance of ripe red fruit, cherry, and the more savory tar and balsamic notes. Medium+ body, fresh with chewy tannins, this is youthful, but giving pleasure after some air. Long finish. Very nice, just getting started but ready to drink now with decant.
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1/20/2023 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Drinking really well, like most '12's are at the moment. Complex aromatics of sweet tobacco, menthol, mulberry and cherry. The palate is deep and savoury, with a dark core and a cool, ironstone base. It plays in that perfect place between sweet fruit and savoury nuance and there's still moderate tannic, chew. Length is good.
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6/27/2022 - Eric Wright wrote: flawed
Flawed. Heat exposure
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6/15/2022 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
Darker and deeper on the nose than the Cerretta, with black and red cherry, spices, floral and leather notes. Close to full bodied (14.5% ABV) with red and black cherry upfront that are more rounded and expressive than the Cerretta. Mid-body doesn't have quite the depth of the Cerretta, but seems noticeably more elegant and balanced. The fruit through the mid-body is not only already showing quite well, but the acidity and tannins on the backside (along with tart red cherry, minerals, spices, leather and earth) are showing a lot of positive integration potential (meaning these elements are already coming together well, with the clear promise of more improvement to come). The Cerretta might have a bit more complexity at this stage, but the Baudana is ahead in terms of fruit expression, current elegance and fruit-structure balance. At almost 10 years young, this wine is already showing well (with four hours open), but with enough future potential to warrant holding just a bit longer (if you can). I'll plan to open my next bottle in late Q2 2023.
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2/5/2022 - Qventoid#11 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drink or hold
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10/16/2019 - Motz wrote: 95 Points
High quality Barolo that needs to breathe! It sports a riveting bouquet and profoundly layered, texturally enthralling palate. Anything less than an eight hour decant essentially constitutes wasting a spectacular wine. Interesting to experience this terroir in a restrained year. It will improve and last through 2035+. 94-95...96?
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8/24/2018 - Demikalsen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Aired 2-3 hours. Not nearly enough. Closed, and tanninic. Lots of potential here. Intense and elegant barolo. Roses,liquorice, cherries. Long.
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5/10/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Vajra & Baudana Barolo Dinner (Ai Fiori (Langham Hotel on 5th Ave)): Again the red fruits, but a bit less intense than in some of the other wines. Reminds me a bit of velvet. Good tannin.
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10/12/2017 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 91 Points
Old Barolo at Tim's (Tim's): Medium ruby, garnet at the rim.
Expressive ripe black cherry and anise and sage.
Dry, 14.5% alcohol (feels only 14%), medium plus acid, high tannins - a bit bitter still, but in a really satisfying phenolic way. Shows promise!
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11/20/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 91 Points
Quite open and forward on nose and palate. Generous fruit, ripe tannins, well integrated acidity. Lacks a bit of depth and intensity compared to the best Barolos at this tasting. Good length. 90-91+
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11/10/2016 - Stevenwsims Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice. Lot of life left. Well decanted
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10/24/2016 - lolo66 wrote:
tasted at Jancis Robinson event in NYC. no formal notes other than this was approachable and excellent compared to many other tannic and shut down wines.
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7/26/2016 - HowardNZ wrote:
Visit to G.D. Vajra with Francesca Vaira (Vergne, Barolo): G.D. Vajra now owns Luigi Baudana and makes these wines. A spicy, more red fruited nose. For me, a lesser Barolo than the two Vajra Baroli. Lighter bodied with gentle tannins, but a little more structure on the finish. Quite pretty and reasonably generous with good acidity.
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7/21/2016 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
At the winery: Brown sauce, more rose petal florality than Ravera; silky entry but with grippy dry tannins; tingly long finish, high acid, pot-pouri, savory, intense. Powerhouse w/elegance.
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7/3/2016 - kenv Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dinner with the Vajra Family (Locanda dell’Arco, Cissone, Cuneo, Italy): Dark black fruit nose. Incredibly intense in the mouth. Lacks the lift of the Bricco delle Viole, but has that classic Serralunga intensity. A very different wine from the Bricco delle Viole, but also quite good.
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