Winemaker Notes
Barolo DOCG Coste di Rose is possibly the most approachable cru of Barolo at this stage, with roses and a floral-dominated nose, combined with marasca cherry and hints of licorice and mint. A very elegant and pleasurable structure that flows gracefully on the palate with a lingering and sapid finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Enticingly floral, this fragrant red opens with aromas of rose, violet and iris that mingle with perfumed berry and eucalyptus. The palate is equally captivating, boasting great finesse that surrounds strawberry compote, raspberry, star anise and crushed herbs before a white pepper note graces the lingering close. It's impeccably balanced, with bright acidity and taut, refined tannins.
Editor's Choice
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Wine & Spirits
This is Vajra’s first release of this wine, from a plot of vines the family leases at the top of the Coste di Rose cru in the Barolo zone. It’s immediately inviting, with complex scents of violet and rose, orange tea and mint, and ripe, pliant tannins that shape the juicy cherry and raspberry flavors.
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Wine Spectator
This red exhibits purity to the rose, strawberry, cherry and graphite aromas and flavors. Sleek and elegant, with firm structure and a white pepper–accented finish.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.