Gaja tasting with Gaia Gaja

This wine tasting dinner was organized by Gaja's Mexican importer at italian restaurant Lo Spuntino. There were about 25 people in attendance. Food was very lackluster, consisting of: a decent ravioli stuffed with salmon; a seabass encamisato that was an incredibly bad pairing choice with the Ca'Marcanda Magari; an overcooked tenderloin and an uninspiring cheese platter.

• 2005 Gaja Langhe Alteni di Brassica 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Had at tasting with Gaia Gaja in Monterrey.
  
  Deeper golden color than expected for a Sauvignon Blanc wine. The nose is also atypical for SB, dominated by riper aromas than you'd expect. Tropical fruits and oak dominate the nose. In the mouth, this wine is medium to full bodied, dense and somewhat oily with great flavor definition and awesome texture. Atypical but darn good!

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• 2002 Ca' Marcanda (Gaja) Magari 87 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Had at tasting with Gaia Gaja in Monterrey.
  
  This had an intially primary Merlot nose, but with time in the glass, it became more interesting. The palate is a disspointment, as it lacks flavor intensity and length.

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• 2001 Gaja Barbaresco 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Had at tasting with Gaia Gaja in Monterrey.
  
  Medium light purple color. Nose is very expressive, offering flowers and a core of tar and red fruits. the type of wine you can smell all night long. In the palate, this wine is still quite tannic and lacking mid palate sweetness, but overall remians attractive. This was the best of the two Nebbiolo based wines.

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• 2000 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 84 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Had at tasting with Gaia Gaja in Monterrey.
  
  Darker than the 2001 Barbaresco but still what you would expect from a Barolo. This wine was very unforgiving. Shut down and austere, this hardly seems from a hot vintage. Tannic, fruitless and dry, this was a major disappointment.

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• 2005 Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

  Had at tasting with Gaia Gaja in Monterrey.
  
  This was served last, and it was a big contrast with all other reds color wise. Much darker and intense than the Nebbiolo based wines and the rain dilluted 2002 Magari. In the nose this was very modern. Fruitful, oaky and primary. Medium to full bodied, with some fruitiness missing from the mid palate and a slightly dry finish. This is a different animal, but quite enjoyable.

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The highlight of the night was Gaia, no doubt. She is a young, intelligent and engaging personality that spent the majority of the night talking with our table. We discussed many topics, including: the reasoning behind dropping the Barbaresco and Barolo DOGCs, the battle between modernists and traditionalist; the wine media; her father's reluctance to seek joint ventures in other regions; the single vineyard craze; her favorite wines aside from Nebbiolo; where her wines are sold the most; Russia's role in the wine consuming world; the insignificance of Mexico as a market; the devaluation of blended Barbarescos; etc.