G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco Delle Viole 2021

A flagship Barolo from one of the highest vineyards in the region, this wine opens with lifted aromas of red cherry, wild strawberry, rose petals, violet, and spice with hints of mint and crushed stone. The palate is elegant yet structured, offering vibrant red fruit, floral complexity, and pronounced minerality supported by bright acidity and finely etched tannins. Refined and expressive, it finishes long with notes of spice, dried flowers, and remarkable precision.

Food Pairing: Braised veal, truffle risotto, roasted game birds, mushroom dishes, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano.

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

The 2021 Barolo Bricco Delle Viole is more refined and complete at this tasting, with more depth than the Coste delle Rose, exhibiting notes of raspberry liqueur, pressed flowers, sweet herbs, and fresh earth. A very pure and well-balanced vintage for this wine, it really shines with exceptional detail, offering even tannins and a balanced, seamless structure throughout. It feels as though this wine will offer the broadest window for enjoyment, thanks to its purity and length, which are quite profound.

97 Points - James Suckling

Dark cherries, orange rind, dried flowers and cinnamon on the nose. The palate is incisive and medium- to full-bodied with tender fruit, refined and polished tannins and a long, persistent, flavorful finish. Elegant and almost ethereal in essence. Really well crafted and detailed. Better in 2026.

97 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The organic G.D. Vajra 2021 Barolo Bricco delle Viole first shows a fragile side, but it eventually rolls onto much greater momentum and focus as it opens in the glass. This is always one of my favorite wines from this excellent producer, and I love it especially thanks to its fine nuances of redcurrant, pressed flower and something a little savory like peat moss. There is a hint of ashy stone or brimstone. All of these little details emerge with terrific sharpness in an epic vintage such as 2021. Fruit comes from a seven-hectare plot at 400 to 480 meters in elevation on Sant'Agata marl soils with marine fossils.

97 Points - Wine Enthusiast

Great wines evoke emotions along with firing the senses. This wine hits the soul like Sappho's sanctuary, where cold water ripples and roses bloom everywhere, making you want to feel more, express more, share more. This is the true essence of wine, and like Sappho's verses, it reveals its beauty layer by layer just as this wine opens with aromas of boysenberry jam mingling with sour cherries, hints of licorice root and allspice, all dusted with rose petals. The palate is pure elegance, charming and flirtatious enough to give you butterflies, as savory notes and subtle dried orange peel weave through red fruits and lifted acidity. This is purity in a bottle. Drink Now - 2050.

97 Points - Wine Spectator

This red is rich and succulent, displaying cherry, raspberry, earth, leather and eucalyptus flavors. A mineral note emerges as this builds to the long, red fruit– and rose hip–stained finish.

95 Points - Decanter

This high-altitude, late-ripening site was picked between 13-18 October in 2021. Thick-skinned, healthy grapes saw a long, slow fermentation with a lengthy 51-day submerged cap maceration. It is quite a substantial, mouthfilling Bricco delle Viole that requires further ageing to assimilate. Complex aromas of cinnamon, brushwood, violet, mint and cherry blossom emerge with intertwining headiness. There is fleshy richness to the dark berry core, but it is neatly and tightly corseted by the suede-textured tannins. Youthful tension is amplified by signature linear acidity. Hints of licorice and juniper percolate on the finish.