Nose
Notes of sweet red and black berries, hints of aromatic herbs and sweet spices.
Palate
Powerful and rich on the palate, the Barbera D’Alba 2020 shows succulent layers of strawberry, cherry, white pepper, anise, and tobacco, perfectly balanced with mineral graphite notes. The finish is long.
Growing Conditions
The grapes were grown in six different vineyards from three different areas. Four vineyards are in Barolo, on chalky, Tortonian soils, facing either south-east or south-west, with vines planted between 1968 and 2004. Here the chalky soil results in delicately aromatic wines, with high acidity and red berry characters. The two vineyards planted in Novello and Sinio are on Helvetian soils, giving wines with ripe, black fruit characters, balsam and minerality, with firmer tannins. All of the vineyards are planted at a high altitude and benefit from cool night temperatures, which helps the fruit to ripen gradually.
2020 was a truly remarkable vintage for Piemonte and one of the longest of the decade. It began with an early budbreak that slowed down throughout spring and summer, which resulted in a late harvest. Flowering occurred on the 12th May, which resulted in perfumed, red-tone dominated wines of 2020. July was characterised by heavy rainfalls that produced a less regular fruit set and required more intensive work in the vineyards. The rainfall also presented milder temperatures, which led to an estimated vegetative cycle of 213 days. Great aromatics, varietal authenticity and succulent tannins are the signatures of the 2020 vintage.
Harvest
Harvested by hand.
Winemaking
The hand-harvested fruit was sorted in both the vineyard and the winery before it was destemmed and gently crushed. Each parcel was individually fermented so to respect the personality and qualities of each site, for an average time of 22 days, at free temperature below 30°C. While Barbera is often treated with shorter and vigorous macerations, Vajra works with gentle punch downs and cap rinsings for longer periods, in order to capture all the fragrance of the grapes. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless-steel vats and was followed by racking. No oak was used in order to preserve the fresh, pure fruit characters of the Barbera.
Aging
Barbera d’Alba aged for approximately 14 months in stainless steel. Most of the aging was carried in stainless steel, prior to raking and blending.
Appearance
Bright violet in colour.
