TN: G.D.Vajra Nebbiolo Langhe J.C.Clare '19...(short/boring)

TomHill · June 12, 2020, 6:23pm

This just arrived at Kokomanns, so had to try it last night:

G.D.Vajra Nebbiolo Dd’OC: Langhe Clare J.C. (13.5%; L03-20) Barolo 2019: Med.light garnet color; very fragrant floral/violets/rose petal/lilacs/Nebb/strawberry slight earthy/pungent lovely nose; slight spritz/prickly near dry bright/zesty floral/Nebb/violets/rose petal/strawberry slight pungent/earthy lovely flavor w/ light brisk tannins; very long tart/tangy near-dry slight spritz/CO2 strong perfumed/strawberry/floral Nebb/violets/rose petal slight earthy/pungent unabashedly Nebb fruity finish w/ light zippy tannins; speaks strongly of Nebb but unlike any other Langhe Nebb; wonderful Vin de Soif drinkable Nebb at a very good price. $20.50 (KK)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

A number of yrs ago, DarrellCorti uncovered at TN from ThomasJefferson (who was a slave owner) when he was US Ambassador in Paris of a current Barolo. It was vastly different from what we now regard as Barolo. Darrell went to G.D.Vajra and asked them to recreate a Nebb that resembled Jefferson’s TN. This J.C.Clare (Jefferson-Corti Claret) is that wine. This is about the 4’th-5’th vintage of that effort.
Lovers of Barolo will, of course, drink this wine w/ great disdain. I think it’s great drinking glou-glou wine. It speaks strongly of Nebb, but not the intensity or structure of B/B. Probably not going to get much better than what it is right now.
I describe this wine as being like giving a nude JuliaChild a firm embrace, tucking your face into her ample perfume-drenched bosom and than rolling down a hillside covered w/ Alpine strawberries. An experience few of you have had the opportunity to experience. You had to have been there.
Tom

R_Frankel · June 12, 2020, 7:21pm

@Tom, this sounds lovely. As a Barolo fanatic I have no disdain for such expressions of Nebbiolo. Rather, I hunt for them! I hope some of these get to California.

But I have to say your Julia Child/hillside tumble image is one of the most hilariously evocative one I’ve seen here. But I’m really wondering if this is a memory or a flight of fantasy??!?!

R_M_Kriete · June 12, 2020, 7:30pm

I can’t unsee that

TomHill · June 12, 2020, 7:33pm

Well, Rich… I did meet Julia up at Aspen one Summer. But it was just a chat in a book store. And that was it.
This wine should be fairly available in Calif. CortiBros/Sacramento should have it.
Tom

Howard_Cooper · June 12, 2020, 8:52pm

I like the wines from Vajra a lot, but have not had the Nebbiolo. I recently had a 2007 Barolo Albe that was quite good. I have also in recent years really liked the 2013s I have had from Bricco delle Viole and Ravera.

TomHill · June 13, 2020, 1:31pm

Darrell elaborates on the origins of this wine:

Darrell:

This is a remake of what Jefferson tasted as nebbiolo. Barolo did not exist at that time. Barolo does not become a name until the middle of the 19th century, with the Marchesa di Barolo. It has even less to do with Barbaresco since this didn’t become a wine name until 1900. Jefferson was describing what nebbiolo was when he tasted it in Torino. This wine corresponds to the actual wine made from bebbiolo before a French enologist hired by the Marchesa di Barolo to “improve” the sometimes tart, arromatic and slightly petillant red wine made from the variety. On the other hand, what Jefferson describes is what nebbiolo really is, not some notion of the wine which was “improved”. WE still have some 2014, 2015 so when you are next here we can taste them. The wines should hold up for some time and although a vin de soif, they should take 8-10 years of aging without much trouble. WE need more vin de soif rather than tannic expensive ones!

Ken_Zinns · June 13, 2020, 2:38pm

Thanks for the note, Tom. I’ll be keeping an eye out for this new vintage.