Always a privilege to taste one of Gaja's OG single vineyard wines. This time tasted at the wonderful Max Bordeaux where it was offered for 38 euros a glass.
Nose is intense and powerful. Black cherry and blackberry lead off with bright raspberry preserves. Fruit notes playfully intermingle with dried rose petals, violets, sandalwood oil, tar, and green peppercorn. There's a nice touch of tomato leaf and fennel after swirling. Vanilla, mocha, clove, and fresh ground cardamom continue to build on the impressive foundation. A beautiful wisp of sweet toasted wood smoke becomes more intense as the wine sits in the glass. All of these aromas are wrapped up in a sheer gown of ethereal old leather.
The acidity in this wine is something else. It's still so vibrant and structured on the palate with serious fine-grained tannins. Very intense. Dark frosted cherry and tart raspberry drive through fresh tar and explosive floral notes on the mid-palate. The finish takes all these notes and adds peripherals of dark red plum, fresh Madagascar vanilla, and baking spices. It carries on and on.
The structure here is still incredible - I expect this wine can age another 10-15 years easily. It's rustic and still manages to maintain serious authority and even some precision. I really think the addition of Barbera to the assemblage here added some serious complexity in aroma, flavor, and structure. For me, just a great experience.
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Alongside the 1998. Decanted an hour+ before serving. Red cherry and berry aromas with spice aplenty, this was backward when opened but lush and balanced when served later in the evening. Dense and powerful with an exciting and lingering finish. Upside from here.
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Friday Blind Tasting $100+ (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Semi translucent maroon, lighter rim but still vibrant; great nose, balsamic, tanned leather, fennel, celery seed, raisiny, good bit of sweet liqueured cherry, slight VA, looks fresh but tastes older, late wood tannin; '05 Spinetta Vursu?
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Wasn’t as good as last time. Opened and poured at a restaurant. It never opened up over 3 hours. I think it was a great wine, just very tight/young and needed more time than we had to open up
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10/3/2023 - Magickjohnson wrote: 96 Points
Always a privilege to taste one of Gaja's OG single vineyard wines. This time tasted at the wonderful Max Bordeaux where it was offered for 38 euros a glass.
Nose is intense and powerful. Black cherry and blackberry lead off with bright raspberry preserves. Fruit notes playfully intermingle with dried rose petals, violets, sandalwood oil, tar, and green peppercorn. There's a nice touch of tomato leaf and fennel after swirling. Vanilla, mocha, clove, and fresh ground cardamom continue to build on the impressive foundation. A beautiful wisp of sweet toasted wood smoke becomes more intense as the wine sits in the glass. All of these aromas are wrapped up in a sheer gown of ethereal old leather.
The acidity in this wine is something else. It's still so vibrant and structured on the palate with serious fine-grained tannins. Very intense. Dark frosted cherry and tart raspberry drive through fresh tar and explosive floral notes on the mid-palate. The finish takes all these notes and adds peripherals of dark red plum, fresh Madagascar vanilla, and baking spices. It carries on and on.
The structure here is still incredible - I expect this wine can age another 10-15 years easily. It's rustic and still manages to maintain serious authority and even some precision. I really think the addition of Barbera to the assemblage here added some serious complexity in aroma, flavor, and structure. For me, just a great experience.
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7/12/2023 - Yagil wrote: 91 Points
Piemonte - mature Barolo & Barbaresco (at my home): good but disappointing - good at opening, but faded after 3-4 hours in the bottle.
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6/7/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Alongside the 1998. Decanted an hour+ before serving. Red cherry and berry aromas with spice aplenty, this was backward when opened but lush and balanced when served later in the evening. Dense and powerful with an exciting and lingering finish. Upside from here.
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12/30/2022 - Rezy13 wrote:
Friday Blind Tasting $100+ (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Semi translucent maroon, lighter rim but still vibrant; great nose, balsamic, tanned leather, fennel, celery seed, raisiny, good bit of sweet liqueured cherry, slight VA, looks fresh but tastes older, late wood tannin; '05 Spinetta Vursu?
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11/30/2022 - bobvictor Likes this wine:
Wasn’t as good as last time. Opened and poured at a restaurant. It never opened up over 3 hours. I think it was a great wine, just very tight/young and needed more time than we had to open up
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