G.D. Vajra Barolo Ravera 2014 750ml

A stark contrast to the Bricco delle Viole, Vajra’s 2014 Barolo Ravera is a tannic, powerful wine. There is quite a bit of power and depth, but the tannins are also rustic and a touch rough around the edges. The 2014 is going to need time to settle down. It will be interesting to see if bottle age adds polish, but today, the Ravera is a brute.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Piedmont
• Appellation: Barolo
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Nebbiolo

The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy’s finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means ‘fog’ in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.