2019 Barolo Coste di Rose

Full bottle 1,324 g. Certified organic (Ecocert), sustainable (SQNPI). Aged 28 months in 25-hl and 50-hl Slavonian oak. A small vineyard (16 ha) which Giuseppe Vajra calls a hidden gem – literally: the only way to see it is to go off road. Very steep, located on the top of the hill and on very, very old sandstone, over 50% of the soil matrix is pure sand. Planted 1995 to 2001. ‘Litus Rosarum’ on the label. Hand-picked 18 October 2019, destemmed and vinified in custom-designed tini. Vinification lasted 25 days, including the submerged maceration. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation occurred in the following spring. 28 months in large Slavonian casks of 25 and 40 hl. Bottled 25 July 2022. So intensely, fragrantly spicy that the first breath and sip is like inhaling a newly-opened jar of Hungarian sweet paprika and Baharat. The fruit is also fragrant; fine, almost a little shy, like a violin solo in an enormous, empty concert hall. Hibiscus, raspberry, blood orange, red roses. A delicate, very fine-boned wine that, for the moment, is only peeping out from behind the brooding screen of fine-grained tannins, which, as Giuseppe Vajra points out, protrude like a pinch on the tip of the tongue rather than sitting at the back of the mouth. 24 hours later, the tannins feel more like cashmere, allowing the fruit to come forward and sing sweetly and softly. (TC)