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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.7 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 7 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wineton.mee on 11/12/2023: Faint memories of the wine that night but remember I didn’t like it too much. Smell pretty wild and didn’t have the nose that I associate with Nebbiolo. Need to taste again. (521 views) | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 11/10/2023 & rated 93 points: Wines from regions starting with B: Much lighter, prettier red fruit than I expected of Gaja - I thought it would be dominated by oak and dark fruit. Quite Burgundian and surprisingly ready for a 2013 Barolo, very good. (673 views) | | | Tasted by Wino Bob on 10/20/2021: With Rick (1402 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 12/7/2019: Gaja Tasting (Knightsbridge): Retailer tasting. Lovely perfume-elegant florals and orange rind along with red berry fruit. Very bright. Firm tannin. Cherry and red berry fruit, with spice accents on the finish. Excellent, just incredibly young. (2572 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 12/4/2019: Gaja White Truffle Dinner (Osteria Langhe - Chicago IL): The toughest wine to appreciate tonight. So much here, but the aromas and flavors seem huge but out of sync, and little comes across as harmonious. But clearly so much great material here, telling us to leave it alone for another decade. (3309 views) | | | Tasted by Derek Darth Taster on 1/3/2019 & rated 95 points: Coravin 150ml glass over lunch at FT Capitol.
Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, initially soaring but does calm down with more air. Aromas of floral roses, sweet tar earth, sweet spices, light toast, ripe red cherries, dark red cherries, hint of balsamic and blood iron meat with air. Developing.
On the palate, dry, juicy high acidity, medium+ alcohol (14.5%), fine silky high tannins, deceptively full body coulld pass off as medium+. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of glossy dark red cherries, ripe red cherries, sour red cherries, red pomegranates and plums, sweet spices, tarry earth, iron minerality. Long finish.
Outstanding quality. I thought Gaja would be too modern for my liking, but this is really good and if blinded I would not have guessed Gaja!
So damm accessible already. Just another 4+ years and it should be even more rewarding.
DOCG Barolo now. 100% Nebbiolo fruit from the Cerequio cru in the commune of La Morra. (2959 views) |
| Gaja Producer website
Located in the Tuscany and Piedmont regions of Italy, Gaja makes collectible Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay wines, including the Langhe Conteisa label. Gaja wines are among the highest-rated in all of Italy. It is perhaps best known for its Super Tuscans, which are some of the most elegant on the market. However, the estate also makes top-quality wines rooted in Italian tradition, such as Barbaresco. It is perhaps the most lauded Barbaresco producer today.
Although the estate produces 18 different wines, the production is low at just 350,000 bottles per year, making these wines very rare. The best Gaja vintages include 2018, 2016, and 2015 as well as historically well-performing vintages such as 2013, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2004, and 2003. Many of Gaja’s best vintages have received perfect scores from criticsNebbioloNebbiolo is a red grape indigenous to the Piedmont region of Italy in the Northwest. The grape can also be found in other parts of the world, though they are not as respected.
Nebbiolo is often considered the "king of red wines," as it is the grape of the famed wines of Barolo DOCG, Barbaresco DOCG, and Roero DOCG. It is known for high tannins and acidity, but with a distinct finesse. When grown on clay, Nebbiolo can be very powerful, tannic, and require long aging periods to reach its full potential. When grown on sand, the grape exhibits a more approachable body with more elegant fruit and less tannins, but still has high aging potential.
"Nebbiolo" is named for the Italian word, "nebbia", which means "fog", in Italian and rightfully so since there is generally a lot of fog in the foothills of Piedmont during harvest.
Nebbiolo is a late-ripening variety that does best in a continental climate that boasts moderate summers and long autumns. In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is normally harvested in October.
More links:
Varietal character (Appellation America) | Nebbiolo on CellarTrackerItaly Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorPiedmont Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italian only)
On weinlagen-infoLanghe Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero | Union of Producers of Albese Wines (Albeisa)BaroloRegional History:
The wines of Piedmont are noted as far back as Pliny's Natural History. Due to geographic and political isolation, Piedmont was without a natural port for most of its history, which made exportation treacherous and expensive. This left the Piedmontese with little incentive to expand production. Sixteenth-century records show a mere 14% of the Bassa Langa under vine -- most of that low-lying and farmed polyculturally. In the nineteenth century the Marchesa Falletti, a frenchwoman by birth, brought eonologist Louis Oudart from Champagne to create the first dry wines in Piemonte. Along with work in experimental vineyards at Castello Grinzane conducted by Camilo Cavour -- later Conte di Cavour, leader of the Risorgimento and first Prime Minister of Italy -- this was the birth of modern wine in the Piedmont. At the heart of the region and her reputation are Alba and the Langhe Hills. This series of weathered outcroppings south of the Tanaro River is of maritime origin and composed mainly of limestone, sand and clay, known as terra bianca. In these soils -located mainly around the towns of Barolo and Barbaresco -- the ancient allobrogica, now Nebbiolo, achieves its renowned fineness and power.
map of Barolo DOCG
An interesting thread on Traditional vs. Modern Barolo producers:
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106291 |
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