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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.3 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 75 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 4/5/2024 & rated 92 points: Piedmont night: Clearly modern with the spice and menthol notes but not overly so. Still very youthful so I guessed 2010. Explosive nose of pretty cherry fruit but the palate lacked the same punch. (485 views) | | | Tasted by JohnnyBark on 1/28/2024: From magnum, this was spankingly great wine. So much life left. Very deep in texture, balance, aromatics. Lots of time left. (718 views) | | | Tasted by paul195 on 11/28/2023 & rated 94 points: Paired with 1998 Soldera 2 of 12 decanted at 2:00 served at 8:00… (920 views) | | | Tasted by Mjladha on 4/3/2023 & rated 94 points: Fantastic. Silky. Complex. Years to go. Came right after an incredible sperrs 1997 at an Italian wine dinner. (1553 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 1/28/2023 & rated 95 points: Decanted about an hour. (1735 views) | | | Tasted by paul195 on 1/25/2023 & rated 93 points: Brought to Lucali for pizza and a calzone with friends. 1 of 12 opened @ 2:00 double decanted and served @ 8:00. Opaque color, tight nose, pretty massive palate, loaded with dark fruits, significant tannins… still pretty closed by dinner. Took half the bottle home, corked it and put in refrigerator. Three days later I revisited to see if it was drinkable or was going to be used in a pot of Lamb shanks I was making for dinner….. amazing this was beautiful open, fresh, giving and a delicious Barolo…. I love the 1997 and when the 2004 was released I thought it had potential to be a serious challenger when it matured. On Wednesday my original hypothesis was at risk but Saturday I stand by my original thought. Try again in 5 years (1719 views) | | | Tasted by alexbhurst1678 on 12/20/2022 & rated 95 points: Drank at book club dinner; robust, slightly spicy, lush fruits with some tangy streaks too; strong but shorter finish; lots of flavorful movement out of the gate and held together well over its life in the glass; a winner and worth drinking now. (1655 views) | | | Tasted by DrZett on 4/18/2021 & rated 94 points: Beautiful dark ruby color with soft brownish edges. Nice nose with dark berries, plack pepper and wet forest floor. On the palate and interesting mixture between dark berries, cherries, dried herbs and lots of tertiary notes like mushrooms, truffle and wet earthy notes. Medium (+) bodied with a medium acidity. Tannins are silky and completely integrated. Great complexity and balance. This is in a beautiful spot right now - lots of tertiary notes but still some fresh notes. Medium long finish with a lot of dried herbs on the back.
I don’t think this will get any better so drink now until 2026. Sure you can keep it longer but there’s no reason to do so in my opinion. (IG) (4511 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 10/18/2020 & rated 94 points: Decanted 4 hours, bit still wound up tight. It opened a bit further over the following 2 hours, being best right before it was gone. These need to stay asleep in the cellar for now. 94 at this time but expect it will improve when it wakes up. (4353 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/26/2020 & rated 94 points: For old times sake: In the bouquet dark berries, toast, oak and earthy impressions. On the palate smoke. oak, vanilla, dark berries and chocolate. Elegant wine and still sticky tannin in the finish. Can probably last for at least another decade. (4254 views) | | | Tasted by Ramberg on 9/5/2020 & rated 96 points: Brought to a dinner, so no real formal notes.
5 years passed since last bottle and this has really improved and started to shed of it's baby years ant entering next level in its life.
Very Gaja, floral, herbal, licorice, wood, tar, orange peel and cherries.
Super length and superb body.
Great finish with dark and lush fruit, some maturity starting to show with truffles and wet forest floor, salty licorice and notes of tar.
Looking forward to next time - this still has a long way to go. (234 views) | | | Tasted by bobvictor on 7/25/2020 & rated 94 points: Opened and poured. Needed more time. Fabulous potential but was all gone while it was still very tight tonight. (4320 views) | | | Tasted by MWiking on 7/19/2020 & rated 98 points: Fantastiskt att få dricka detta vin igen. Det var ett tag sen sist. Viner är helt perfekt nu, med grym balans mellan mognad och frukt. Älskar detta vin (4362 views) | | | Tasted by NostraBacchus on 7/3/2020 & rated 97 points: This was double decanted and SO‘d for about 4 hours. This was absolutely stunning, while still young the potential here is undeniable. This is a grand „Barolo“ and it will only get better from here of the next 15-20 years or so. Complex, deep and layered, with notes of deep dark fruit, menthol, sweet spices, licorice, tar, pine tree, eucalyptus, tobacco leaf. It‘s medium-full bodied, with excelletn mid-palate persistence, high acidity adding freshness and tension and medium-high tannin that is extraordinarily silky and ripe. Long finish with great complexity. This is a world-class wine of the highest level. I would give this another 5 years or so to open up even more. Love it. (3307 views) | | | Tasted by joshabramson on 2/28/2020 & rated 94 points: Still young and mostly closed for business. I was hoping it would open up in the glass, but even by the end of the night it was still pretty muted. You can tell the quality is there for sure. Very focused and linear on the palate, structure overwhelms the fruit a bit at this stage. I think this probably needs 5-10 years. (2995 views) | | | Tasted by robertek on 12/21/2019 & rated 90 points: Not showing well at all at this time. (2918 views) | | | Tasted by Sundbyberg on 9/8/2019 & rated 96 points: Scored on potential (96-97). This has all the ingredients to be a great barolo in 5-10 years, but is quite drinkable already today.
My third Sperss, previously 2006 and 2011. (3615 views) | | | Tasted by Miceri on 7/6/2019 & rated 90 points: Medium dark red; hint of strawberry, some vanilla; requires air to open up, so decant a couple of hours (at least), well balanced, some licorice, bit of tobacco, somewhat tannic (dry), a bit astringent and tight; more air? More time? Or overdue? (3468 views) | | | Tasted by maxima on 5/27/2019 & rated 91 points: Comme la précédente, super tanique. (4235 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 12/7/2018: A Birthday Celebration (Taste 222 - Chicago IL): Small glass, brief note. Sensational aromatic start with so many alluring features, including bright red cherry, anise, black pepper, fresh herbs and floral notes. Similar flavors, but the wine is so backward and burly and the fruit character too young, slightly flamboyant right now, and begging for more cellar time. Great potential ahead, 93-94+ points. (4643 views) | | | Tasted by maxima on 10/26/2018 & rated 92 points: Un monstre tannique en ce moment...même après un gros 4 heures en carafe.
Super en bouche cependant, hyper long, fruité et épicé.
Pour la très longue garde. (4397 views) | | | Tasted by BSA on 5/12/2018 & rated 94 points: Among a string of great wines at a lunch, this one arrived late but stood out as the best of the reds. Complex stuff. Cherries, smoke, tar. Felt a bit more compact and younger in the mouth, especially from mid palate. Impressive concentration but still with lots of finesse. Super balance and length. Wow. 94-95 for now but potential for more. (4926 views) | | | Tasted by Markus IWC on 9/30/2017 & rated 96 points: Lunch in Barbaresco, Gaja Sperss 04 from magnum bottle paired with fresh pasta linguine with sliced truffels. Lively red fruit, nice maturity notes, early in drinking window. Round and soft on the palate, fully integrated tannins. Hints of caramel and brown sugar. Rich and complex. Lovely wine in a beautiful setting enjoyed with great fiends! 96p (1467 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 9/20/2017 & rated 94 points: Decanted 4 hours, very nice, could benefit from some more cellar time. (7294 views) | | | Tasted by Bernt Olav on 7/28/2017 & rated 97 points: Strålende vin. Har en utrolig kraft, kompleksitet og samtidig en eleganse. Aromaen nærmest hopper ut av glasset og gir deg nye elementer underveis. aroma har tydelige preg av modne kirsebær, roser, røyk, lakris, tjære og tobakk. Finner også elementer mahogny og møbelpolish. Det holder neste å lukte på vinen. I munn har den ett bredt og relativt mykt anslag, men strammer seg godt opp med tydelig tanin og syre i en lang avslutning. Personlig så synes jeg denne drikker fint nå mens det er bra med frukt og tydelig tannin. Synd dette var min siste flaske. (7947 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| 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 CellarTrackerSperssThrough the 1995 vintage, the Gaja single cru Sperss was labeled as Barolo. However, starting with 1996 Gaja formally chose to eschew the DOCG requirements for Barolo (for example, by blending Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon into the wines when only Nebbiolo is allowed in Barolo DOCG) in favor of the more humble Langhe DOC appellation. What this means is that these wines are defined two ways with 1995 and older as Barolo and 1996 and newer as Langhe DOC.Italy 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)Langhe DOC Union of Producers of Albese Wines (Albeisa) |
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