Vaira Aurej Vino Rosso Controcorrente (2022)

$39.99
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Location matters. Just ask anyone! When it comes to vines, it really matters! The vineyards of the Barolo area, for example, are carefully demarked down to the last row of vines and if you’re are on the wrong side of that line, well, you’re S.O.L. and doomed to forever be on the outside looking in. That means, of course, even if your Nebbiolo is perfectly exposed to better ripen in the heat, on the right soils and farmed and made the right way, it still ain’t Barolo. And if your land is 150 meters from the border facing the wrong way, the only labelling option left to you is Vino Rosso- basic red wine. You can’t even put a grape variety or vintage on it. Such is life for brothers Francesco and Giacomo Vaira. Using the land inherited from their father Aurelio (‘Aurej’ in Piemontese) who died some 20 years ago, the brothers are among a score of passionate young winemakers in the Langhe intent on redefining the landscape of this often hidebound region. Even though they count themselves among this elite young coterie of young guns, the majority of their estate faces the Alps ‘over the hill’ from the amphitheater of Barolo vineyards, in the hamlet of Vergne, literally just a football field away from MGA vineyards like Bricco delle Viole, Serradenari and Coste di Vergne. This handicap hasn’t hindered this duo at all and, fortunately for them, they do farm a spot in the Fossati MGA just down the hill that enables them to bottle at least one of their wines as Barolo. But they put the same care and attention to the ‘table wines’ they produce from Vergne. More, perhaps, because they believe they have to be really good if they ever want to convince the Barolo Consorzio they belong in the DOCG. Controcorrente means ‘against the tide’ as they admit they are swimming upstream by creating a wine of this quality and only being able to label it Vino Rosso. Made entirely from the old, nearly extinct Nebbiolo clone called Rose, it’s a pretty amazing wine, no matter its appellation. Farmed organically, Francesco fermented the grapes on their natural yeast for about two weeks on about 20% whole clusters. He then aged the wine for 10 months in used barrels to round out its edges and allow the singular savory, seductive aromatics of the Rose clone to emerge. Lighter on its feet (and in color) and more immediately charmingly accessible than the other two more widely planted Nebbiolo biotypes in the Barolo region, it’s everything you want in a current-drinking Barolo with the treble levels on high and the bass a little lower. The little secret that may someday work in the Vairas’ favor is that his Vergne vineyards, by virtue of their altitude and exposure, are a lot cooler, and in warm vintages like 2022, will ripen later and with completly balanced ripeness creating wines that have a lot of the class and style of the wines over the hill, but at half the price. This is my kind of Nebbiolo!
By the way, we still do have a few bottles remaining of the Vairas’ Fossati Barolo ($89.99), the 2020 is the inaugural vintage of what will be their flagship wine. They are extremely proud of this exciting debut and we encourage you to add a few bottles to your case of Controcorrente.