Baudana

Baudana sits on the southwest-facing upper slopes of Serralunga d’Alba at 300–380 metres, among the highest-altitude parcels in the commune. The estate of Luigi Baudana was acquired by the G.D. Vajra family in 2009, when Luigi and his wife Fiorina had no heirs to continue it; the Vajra family have maintained the traditional approach throughout.

The Terroir The extra elevation introduces a freshness and floral aromatic quality that complement rather than soften Serralunga’s characteristic mineral austerity. Farming is organic, and vinification follows the traditional long maceration and large-cask aging philosophy entirely suited to its soils, where Serralunga’s Lequio Formation meets the younger Sant’Agata Fossili marls. The combination of high, cool slopes and a rigorously classical hand in the cellar gives Baudana a distinctive purity within the commune.

The Critical Take The wines show dried rose, iron, liquorice, tar, and a structural precision that reflects both the altitude and the careful husbandry. Baudana is a Serralunga MGA with an unusual floral lift for the commune — more complete and expressive than many observers expect from this part of the appellation, and increasingly recognised as one of its rising stars under the Vajra family’s stewardship. Under the Vajra family’s careful, organic stewardship, Baudana has become one of Serralunga’s quiet success stories, and its wines increasingly reward attention from collectors who once overlooked the site. The combination of high-altitude freshness and rigorously traditional winemaking gives it a purity and lift rare in the commune, making it both a distinctive drinking experience and a genuinely promising cellar candidate.

At the Table Baudana’s blend of Serralunga structure and floral lift suits both hearty and slightly more refined cooking: brasato and braised game, but also truffled tajarin and roast fowl. It is a wine that rewards the cellar without demanding the extreme patience of the commune’s most brutal crus: give it a decade, and a fine vintage will improve for well beyond that. Decant younger bottles a couple of hours ahead and serve at 16 to 18 degrees from a large glass to let the high-altitude perfume rise clear of the mineral frame. With age it gains a savoury, spiced complexity that makes it one of Serralunga’s most quietly compelling wines.

Benchmark Producers Luigi Baudana / G.D. Vajra (the estate’s entire production), Sergio Germano.