2014 Barolo Le Albe

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.

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.