94 points,"Lovely Nebbiolo aromas of rose, violet, red berry and botanical herb shape the fragrant nose. Smooth and savoury, the elegant palate features juicy red cherry, crushed raspberry and cake spice alongside polished tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced. It's already drinking beautifully but also promises years of pleasure."- Wine Enthusiast 93+ points,"This wine consistently delivers one of the greatest values to be found in Italian wine. The G.D. Vajra 2018 Barolo Albe has all its cards in play as an immediately enjoyable and extremely food-friendly Nebbiolo. This really is the top of the category in that sense. With straightforward winemaking (fermentation is in steel and aging in large Slavonian oak casks), the wine offers bold cherry, wild plum and plenty of fragrant blue flower and violet. This vintage has the added benefit of softly textured richness."- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Considered by many as"the most modern of the traditionalists and the most traditional of the modernists", Aldo Vajra is now one of the leading figures in Barolo. A pioneer of organic farming in Piedmont, having joined Suolo e Salute in 1971, he also renounced the use of excessive French wood in the eighties to create wines in a traditional yet modern and elegant way. Albe - meaning sunrise - is a 100% Nebbiolo sourced from the vineyards of Coste di Vergne, Fossati and La Volta, which are amongst the highest in Barolo. It pays tribute to the winemaking of the 1950s and 60s, when producers would blend some of the finest crus to create the most wonderfully balanced Barolo. The wine is so good that critic Antonio Galloni says"Albe may be the single best value in Barolo today", and it was chosen to feature in the 2015 film Burnt starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Uma Thurman. The wine is matured for 30 months in big Slavonian oak barrels before bottling and displays rolling tobacco, baking spices, dried rose petals, black cherry, plum sorbet, raspberry, orange zest, cocoa and pine needles. The 2018 Albe is a silky and refined; an apt tribute to Barolo's old traditions. Despite being in Italy's top echelon of producers, the Vajra family remains quiet and endearingly humble, but their intense passion and skill shine in every drop they make. Their wines sit perfectly between the traditional and the modern, they're all vegan friendly and their vineyards have been farmed organically since 1971.£7 per 100.00ml