Howard’s note describes this wine very well. I tasted it blind and was really confused by it. There is very ripe blue, and black fruit. Higher alcohol. I was first thinking American Zinfandel. The more I tasted it, the acidity kept telling me this was old world but modern style. There is some fine tannin here, too. It is not Cab or Merlot. I went to Rhône, but wasn’t getting any real Rhône flavors. It’s not that, but what the hell is it? Ran out of time. After the A few Barolo(i?) and a Brunello, this seemed pretty ripe for my tastes, but Ann really liked it. One of those times where the preceding wines didn’t do this one any favors.
Drunk over two evenings - during which it did not change - from a Burgundy Zalto Denk'art glass. Deep dark purple ruby colour. A muscular, expressive bouquet of blackberries, dark cherries, black plums, dark spices and cacao with high notes of blue fruit and violets. A smooth and seamless entry to the palate. Deep, dense and powerful. Black fruited with dark chocolate, crème de cassis, new leather, graphite, bramble and charred game meats. Spherical with precise acidity. The high alcohol (15% ABV) well disguised by the fruit and tannin volume and fresh acidity. Some tannic grip on the long finish. Ideally drink from 2025+. Very much a classy 2016. Here, as it often is, the Vajra Superiore is one of Piemonte's top Barberas. 93+.
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Super smooth and sappy dark berry fruits with tangy acidity. Some hints of earth and leather, but this is mostly about fruit. Held together with tangy acidity. Really velvety. Maybe not the most complex wine in the world but satisfying.
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Deep ruby to deep purple, strong boysenberry, cassis, violets, followed by hints of black cherry, wood, spice and subtle earth, dark tangy fruit on the attack with layers of black plum, black tea, juicy acidity and subtle, powdery tannins, finishes strong with blue and black fruit, black tea, mineral notes, irons, mushroom and more, outstanding
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Deep purple color. This was tasted for lunch and retasted the next day. This is layered, deep and explosive, but also carried by a beautiful freshness and tension. Notes of black cherry, new leather, some spices, graphite and some crushed flowers. It‘s medium-full bodied, has bracing high acidity that makes it almost electrifying, and lower-medium tannin adding some grip. Long finish full of tension. Year after year, one of my favorite Barberas, it shows an incredible and rare combination of elegance, freshness and depth without heaviness. Love it!
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Luktar lacknafta å saknar den friska syran. Något alkoholstark. Mörk frukt å skalaktig kärvhet å beska i munnen. Tycker inte denna var så kul trots all uppståndelse.
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Chilled to 60°. Nice plum color. Black raspberry and violets (floral) with flint and vanilla adding to the palate. Very light mouthfeel and tannins with a cleansing acidity to it... pleasant.
A mouthful of flavor with fruit, savory herbs, earthy leather notes and a bit of anise seed. While it is certainly enjoyable now, I do think that it will be better in a couple of years when it relaxes a bit. Every year, this is one of my favorite barbera.
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This is brilliant - so much quality and complexity for the money.
The first ten minutes are all about the fruit - a real maelstrom of red fruit; at this stage my thoughts were that this might be the fruitiest red I've ever tasted. With time in glass the wine becomes more serious, with spice, hints of leather, graphite, game. Overall impression is reminiscent of a decent Bordeaux from a hot vintage. Wears its 15% alcohol lightly, although there is some subtle heat on the finish. Overall - wow.
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Colors is deep ruby, almost purple. The nose is filled with violets, strawberries, plum, and vanilla. On the palate, you get ripe cherries, raspberries, vanilla, and milk chocolate. Tannins are fairly mellow but still present. Wine is approachable now.
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Sweet nose of bright red fruits. Lush and soft up front, with a long tart finish of raspberries and plums. Day 2: A little softer than day one, but the acidity is still quite bright. An excellent choice with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
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Great food wine with forceful red and purple fruit and lifted acidity! It was mute straight from the bottle but unfolded itself brilliantly with just an hour of decanting, maybe less. Not sure what fruits I associate this with,, it really doesn’t matter.
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Quite reticent, and packing impressive power and depth. Great range! It needs a few years to its best. Decant for several hours if drinking in the near term. High QPR!
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A perfumed and deep nose. This is a dark fruited barbera but with freshness and violet florals. Some grape sweet tart. Good acidity cooler fruit. Full bodied but carrying it well
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This is also dark and black fruited, the oldest blocks of Barbera from 1940s. The ice berg factor. THe vines are 6 feet tall but the roots go down so much father. Which makes the grapes way smaller. Made like barbera, skin contact for 35 days. Because barbera doesn't have allot of tannins they go for long skin contact to get more tannin structure. That is instead of using oak. That is why they have tannins. THey are strong and lingering but are not dry on the palate.
Loads of depth and full bodied and juicy and dark depths there. Intensity but not oak intensity.
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2/27/2022 - Outplaying wrote:
Howard’s note describes this wine very well. I tasted it blind and was really confused by it. There is very ripe blue, and black fruit. Higher alcohol. I was first thinking American Zinfandel. The more I tasted it, the acidity kept telling me this was old world but modern style. There is some fine tannin here, too. It is not Cab or Merlot. I went to Rhône, but wasn’t getting any real Rhône flavors. It’s not that, but what the hell is it? Ran out of time. After the A few Barolo(i?) and a Brunello, this seemed pretty ripe for my tastes, but Ann really liked it. One of those times where the preceding wines didn’t do this one any favors.
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2/1/2022 - HowardNZ Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drunk over two evenings - during which it did not change - from a Burgundy Zalto Denk'art glass. Deep dark purple ruby colour. A muscular, expressive bouquet of blackberries, dark cherries, black plums, dark spices and cacao with high notes of blue fruit and violets. A smooth and seamless entry to the palate. Deep, dense and powerful. Black fruited with dark chocolate, crème de cassis, new leather, graphite, bramble and charred game meats. Spherical with precise acidity. The high alcohol (15% ABV) well disguised by the fruit and tannin volume and fresh acidity. Some tannic grip on the long finish. Ideally drink from 2025+. Very much a classy 2016. Here, as it often is, the Vajra Superiore is one of Piemonte's top Barberas. 93+.
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11/20/2021 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 92 Points
Super smooth and sappy dark berry fruits with tangy acidity. Some hints of earth and leather, but this is mostly about fruit. Held together with tangy acidity. Really velvety. Maybe not the most complex wine in the world but satisfying.
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3/4/2021 - duchamp Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep ruby to deep purple, strong boysenberry, cassis, violets, followed by hints of black cherry, wood, spice and subtle earth, dark tangy fruit on the attack with layers of black plum, black tea, juicy acidity and subtle, powdery tannins, finishes strong with blue and black fruit, black tea, mineral notes, irons, mushroom and more, outstanding
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1/22/2021 - Rbtrage wrote: 92 Points
Didnt have high expectations but superb for the price!
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12/23/2020 - xwine wrote:
Another enjoyable bottle of this terrific Barbera. Lovely dark berry fruit, with excellent acidity. Bright and energetic.
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11/6/2020 - DaveS23 wrote: 94 Points
Very nice and smooth with Italian dinner
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11/1/2020 - ran.shoham Likes this wine: 90 Points
The high acidity makes it a gastronomic wine, balanced by excellent fruit.
Really enjoyable.
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10/4/2020 - gzim Likes this wine:
great with pizza. Lots of fruit, youth and energy, some dark berry and blueberry
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9/19/2020 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep purple color. This was tasted for lunch and retasted the next day. This is layered, deep and explosive, but also carried by a beautiful freshness and tension. Notes of black cherry, new leather, some spices, graphite and some crushed flowers. It‘s medium-full bodied, has bracing high acidity that makes it almost electrifying, and lower-medium tannin adding some grip. Long finish full of tension. Year after year, one of my favorite Barberas, it shows an incredible and rare combination of elegance, freshness and depth without heaviness. Love it!
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9/5/2020 - Ulveström wrote: 88 Points
Much better second time somehow.
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9/5/2020 - Obi-Wan Cannubi Likes this wine: 87 Points
Dyp mørk rød. Mørke modne bær, mer mørkt enn rødt preg. Lær, noe brent. Men også en god kjerne med dvale rødr bær med litt luft.
Høy syre, merkbar alkohol. Best dag 2 med saftige rødlige bær med mørk kjerne der alkoholen er mer maskert. Markant struktur til å være barbera. Lang.
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7/5/2020 - jrnivar Likes this wine: 87 Points
Digg fruktig vin med god balanse. Kirsebær, nøtter og krydder på duft. Fersk frukt med sursøte bær på smak.
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5/15/2020 - Ulveström wrote: 85 Points
Luktar lacknafta å saknar den friska syran. Något alkoholstark. Mörk frukt å skalaktig kärvhet å beska i munnen. Tycker inte denna var så kul trots all uppståndelse.
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4/9/2020 - stevemar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark purple with raspberry and floral nose. Medium body, black cherry, black plum, spice with bright acid and medium tannins. Balanced and delicious.
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3/28/2020 - winenotboab Likes this wine: 87 Points
Chilled to 60°. Nice plum color. Black raspberry and violets (floral) with flint and vanilla adding to the palate. Very light mouthfeel and tannins with a cleansing acidity to it... pleasant.
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3/4/2020 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 92 Points
A mouthful of flavor with fruit, savory herbs, earthy leather notes and a bit of anise seed. While it is certainly enjoyable now, I do think that it will be better in a couple of years when it relaxes a bit. Every year, this is one of my favorite barbera.
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1/24/2020 - NickA Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is brilliant - so much quality and complexity for the money.
The first ten minutes are all about the fruit - a real maelstrom of red fruit; at this stage my thoughts were that this might be the fruitiest red I've ever tasted. With time in glass the wine becomes more serious, with spice, hints of leather, graphite, game. Overall impression is reminiscent of a decent Bordeaux from a hot vintage. Wears its 15% alcohol lightly, although there is some subtle heat on the finish. Overall - wow.
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1/22/2020 - hckschr40 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium ruby.
Black cherry, black raspberry, toast, vanilla, oak and floral notes.
Blackberry, caramel and vanilla on the palate, with spice and pepper. Alcohol and acid perfectly balanced and a good finish.
The quality of Vajra's lower-level wines is just remarkable.
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12/15/2019 - johnnylaw1222 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Colors is deep ruby, almost purple. The nose is filled with violets, strawberries, plum, and vanilla. On the palate, you get ripe cherries, raspberries, vanilla, and milk chocolate. Tannins are fairly mellow but still present. Wine is approachable now.
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11/27/2019 - kenv Likes this wine: 91 Points
Sweet nose of bright red fruits. Lush and soft up front, with a long tart finish of raspberries and plums.
Day 2: A little softer than day one, but the acidity is still quite bright. An excellent choice with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
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11/1/2019 - Skrutt (Formerly RotHead) Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great food wine with forceful red and purple fruit and lifted acidity! It was mute straight from the bottle but unfolded itself brilliantly with just an hour of decanting, maybe less. Not sure what fruits I associate this with,, it really doesn’t matter.
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10/12/2019 - Hypnos1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fantastic for the price! QPR champion.
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9/21/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 90 Points
Sunfish Cellars Grand Tasting (Just $10) (Sunfish Cellars/I Nonni Minneapolis, MN): Minerals, rustic, cherry, rose petals and plum. Medium plus finish. Nice wine and should improve with some age.
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8/27/2019 - Motz wrote: 91 Points
Gritty and piercing purple berry and mineral notes. Brawny structure, expansive, intense, and long.
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7/27/2019 - Motz wrote: 91 Points
Quite reticent, and packing impressive power and depth. Great range! It needs a few years to its best. Decant for several hours if drinking in the near term. High QPR!
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6/27/2019 - xwine wrote:
Forgot to note this, but this was a beautiful wine. Firmly structured, balanced, a serious barbera. Excellent, and probably the best barbera I’ve had.
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6/10/2019 - the godfather wrote:
very fruity, pretty decent stuff
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6/6/2019 - Anton_Wallin Likes this wine: 89 Points
Balanced and well shaped. Not that complex but this shows what I want from a Barbera within this price range.
Nothing special at all, but still a good wine!
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6/2/2019 - olalar wrote: 91 Points
Superiore indeed. Stellar barbera which will last a long time. This type of wine is such a good food pairing...stocked up!
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5/24/2019 - cct wrote:
With Isidoro
A perfumed and deep nose. This is a dark fruited barbera but with freshness and violet florals. Some grape sweet tart. Good acidity cooler fruit. Full bodied but carrying it well
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5/13/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
This is also dark and black fruited, the oldest blocks of Barbera from 1940s. The ice berg factor. THe vines are 6 feet tall but the roots go down so much father. Which makes the grapes way smaller. Made like barbera, skin contact for 35 days. Because barbera doesn't have allot of tannins they go for long skin contact to get more tannin structure. That is instead of using oak. That is why they have tannins. THey are strong and lingering but are not dry on the palate.
Loads of depth and full bodied and juicy and dark depths there. Intensity but not oak intensity.
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