2021 Luigi Baudana, Barolo, Comune di Serralunga d'Alba

Giuseppe Vajra has been making the wines at Baudana since 2009, and it’s the only property in the Barolo area that has a Cru named after the family who owns the land. The Baudana family lived in that area for so long they don’t even have a record of when they first settled. The 2021s are impressive – and as always, I think Baudana wines offer tremendous value. The Comune di Serralunga is just lovely – mineral and sappy dark fruit with great length and is showing very well in its youth. If you told me I had to drink that wine for the rest of my life, I’d be fine with it. For $65 bucks, it is terribly exciting juice that will thrive gracefully in the cellar for decades to come, but drinks great already and be damned by the old guard who says you can’t drink Barolos young. If you love Vajra’s pure, elegant style but want to see what he could do with more powerful, structured terroir, Baudana is the answer.