The ‘value’ Barolo segment, once filled with a plethora of good choices under $50, has become smaller by the year as mainstays like Vietti’s Barolo Castiglione and the Odderos’ Barolo Classico have drifted northward in price and those with lesser pedigrees simply have not kept up their end of the bargain. All is not lost, though, as several blue chip values do remain for those of us who love top-flight Barolo but don’t want to pay $100 for the pleasure. Last year we mourned the passing of Enrico Scavino, the quality pioneer whose blended Barolo remains, at still under $50, one of the best you can find for the money- their 2021 is arriving soon as well- but, over the past few vintages, we’ve also been most impressed with the Vaira family’s most excellent blended cuvee, a wine that displays a distinctly westside Barolo personality as opposed to, say, those of the Odderos, Scavinos and Viettis which are more pan-appellation in their composition. While most of the Vairas’ treasured fruit from their holdings in Bricco delle Viole, in the Vergne zone high above Barolo castle, are saved for their vaunted single-vineyard bottling, they also farm (organically, of course) small holdings in Fossati (a steep slope running along the border between La Morra and Barolo), La Volta (just under Viole) and Coste de Vergne (located over the shoulder of La Morra hill facing Cherasco near their winery). These holdings are not bottled separately, but rather adroitly blended together to create a really lovely wine that shows the many attributes of the La Morra-Barolo-Novello side of the hill, a particularly fine thing in the near-perfect 2021 vintage where fruit, depth and balance is front and center. Frankly, we’ve not tasted a better Barolo for the money yet from this harvest and I doubt we will. It has lovely presence right as you pop the bottle as Nebbiolo’s cinnamon-spice and red rose/jasmine aromatics are immediately apparent along with a deep well of vibrant red cherry and wild berry fruit. We were impressed with the wine’s structure which boasts a nice bit of the ‘scorched earth’ and wild anise character we associate more with the Vairas’ more expensive Bricco delle Viole and other high-ticket wines. This will not only be an extraordinary drink in its youth (like the bottle I plan on drinking next time I braise some short-ribs) but also with a lot of additional cellaring. A textbook wine to open at ten years past the harvest, there’s a lot of class here, especially for the money. Affordable enough, we think, for a half case, at least!

While you’re at it, add a few bottles of the Vairas’ signature Barolo, that of Bricco delle Viole. This site, located right outside the winery door, is one of the most important in the Barolo zone. Its orientation is exemplary and, thanks to its relatively high elevation, the wines tend to have a bit of welcome elegance to go with their signature power and longevity. The Vajra Bricco delle Viole is considered to be the benchmark wine of the MGA and, in 2021, it’s indeed a truly noble effort. Stash some into the back of the cellar with your most noble 2021s and promise not to even look at them until the 2031 mark. (That’s extreme- if you’re like me, you’re going to be getting into yours a lot sooner)

*Albe 2021 reviews- WA 95, WE 94, JS 94 (the 2020 Albe was Wine Spectator’s #9 Wine of the Year)

*Bricco delle Viole 2021 reviews- WA 97, JS 97, V 96