The nose is lifted, balanced, and refined with tones of biscuits, quince, strawberries, red cherries, rose petals, creamed peaches, toast, and some roasted nuts. This is really firing right now and showing off the poise of maturity. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and rounded as it shows off some weight from the autolytics along with crisp and integrated, high acidity. This is really lovely right now and is fully in the drinking window. There is plenty of age ahead of this, but it is well worth drinking now.
The nose is firmly in the creamy style of Chardonnay camp. There is a good bit of custard, brioche, vanilla extract, and marmalade along with bits of red apples and orange blossoms. The Full bodied feel is textured, richer, and creamy with medium acidity. This is more of a California-esque take on Chardonnay and it does it fairly well, but does miss the mark slightly in that it lacks some depth and is more focused on the process than expressive fruit.
The nose is faded and a bit drying out with balsamico notes, sour red cherries, autumn leaves, dried berries, earth notes, dried rose petals, and some violets. The Medium/Full bodied feel is mostly attack with there being a drop off on the mid-palate as well while possessing drying, high acidity and resolved tannins. This bottle was showing itself to be long in the tooth. So it goes….
Where the 74 Barbaresco was fading, this is soaring! This shows off a restrained power to the tones of red cherries, raspberries, cranberries, licorice, dried herbs, earth notes, tobacco, savory tones, and a dose of violets. The Medium/Full bodied feel is deftly balanced like a light heavyweight fighter with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins that are pretty well resolved. This is a real beauty and the real kickoff to the Gaja lineup.
The nose is extremely perfumed, deep, and layered with refined tones of dark red cherries, raspberries, juniper berries, cranberries, black tea, licorice, roasted herbs, smoke, leather, and tobacco leaf notes. The nose is really soaring and one that is what I love about Nebbiolo in that the aromatics take hold and bring about imagination. The Full bodied feel is well balanced and layered with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is just lovely and a real delight as it is firing on all cylinders and easily showing off its pedigree.
This is a step down from the 99 as it isn't as layered or deep. It's still showing quite well though with a sense of class and poise to the tones of red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, roasted herbs, dust notes, spice tones, licorice, roasted herbs, and truffles. There is good complexity, but it doesn't kick into that next gear. The Full bodied feel is sexy and poised with mouthwatering, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is really sexy and would likely fare better on its own rather than in a lineup. Regardless, this is lovely and showing extremely well.
The nose is a bit tight, but still very red-fruited and balanced with red cherries, strawberries, red berries, juniper berries, sweet tobacco, licorice, roasted herbs, and leather notes. The fruit shows quite well and fresh, but this is lacking some depth and is clearly a baby. The Full bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose as well as the freshness of fruit with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. I would like to see where this goes when it gets closer to 15 years on. The structure is prominent while the nose is also a bit tight. There is a lot to like here though, and I can see this blossoming with age.
The nose is fragrant but lacking depth and showing a bit too much oak along with tones of black cherries, raspberries, licorice, roasted herbs, tobacco notes, dusty tones, and violets. The Medium/full bodied feel is robust, but it lacks on the mid-palate and finish along with tart, high acidity and slightly stiff, high tannins. The tannins are a little underripe, but the feel does show off good balance. This is still a pretty good wine, it just isn't up to normal Gaja quality.
The nose is aromatic and balanced with tones of almond paste, brioche, fresh ginger, red apples, pears, crushed rocks, saline, white flowers, toast, biscuits, and some baking spices. There is excellent depth and poise here as the nose has clearly entered its mature phase. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and silky with crisp, high acidity that is integrated and mouthwatering. Yet again, this is gorgeous and in a wonderful place. It has reached a level of maturity where it has shed its youth but there are still some primary notes though they are balanced well together.
The nose is deep and layered with this soaring right now as it permeates in the glass with flowing tones of red cherries, raspberries, herbal spice notes, roasted herbs, violets, licorice, earth, tobacco leaf notes, and some tar. Oh how I wish I just had a bottle of this in front of me as I want to spend a lot of time with it. This is that kind of nose that gets me off my chair and makes me take notice. The Full bodied feel shows off the depth and layering of the nose as well as possessing a refined sense, if on a larger scale. The high acidity is mouthwatering and crisp while the high tannins are noticeable, but have clearly pulled back a fair bit. This is just beautiful right now. There isn't much to say past that.
This is more of a bruiser and with more heft behind it to the tones of dark red cherries, raspberries, juniper berries, licorice, earth notes, some dusty tones, roasted herbs, violets, and some potpourri to round it all out. There is excellent depth, balance, and poise to the nose as it holds the heftier style quite well and with a bit of swagger. The Full bodied feel carries through the balance and depth of the nose along with tart, high acidity and punchy, high tannins. This is a fun comparison to the 99. This seemed more of a powerhouse but with a gentle side while still showing the class that one expects from Gaja.
The nose is lifted and aromatic with a more modern backdrop to the nose, filled with tones of red cherries, strawberries, juniper berries, violets, licorice, spice notes, and some tobacco leaf tones. There is an elegance to the tones, but it lacks some depth and is a bit tight right now. The Medium/full bodied feel is well balanced and with a slightly more robust take along with tart, high acidity and taught, high tannins. The tannins have a bit of stiffness to them even within their youth. This is a Barolo that shows a bit of the vintage, but it really needs a bit of time to fully settle and reveal what it may be down the line.
The nose is perfumed and extremely aromatic as it fills the glass with balanced tones of red cherries, raspberries, strawberries, fresh picked red berries, licorice, thyme, roasted herbs, spice notes, tobacco leaf, and a good bit of savory herbs. The nose was firing on all cylinders and this was deeply layered. The Medium/full bodied is deft yet robust with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins that still have a bit of bite. The feel is pure silk as it shows off a more mature side while still being vibrant and fresh. This is right in its pomp and a real joy to drink.
The nose is slightly brutish but with balance and depth to the tones of red cherries, raspberries, savory herbs, spice notes, licorice, dust tones, violets, and some balsamico that pokes through. This was showing just a bit drying and older even compared to the wines that were older. The Full bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose as well as the slightly balsamic character with crisp, high acidity and resolving, high tannins. This is showing a little long in the tooth, or it was never that interesting in the first place. Either way, while this is a really good Gaja, its more in the middle of the road on the night.
The nose is a bit ornery and while it shows off good depth, it is a bit tight and takes a few goes to really take it all in. The tones of black cherries, raspberries, licorice, cranberries, sweet tobacco, violets, roasted herbs, and liqueur tones take a bit to show themselves, but its not all working on the same team at the moment. The Medium/full bodied feel has some raw power behind it with racy, high acidity and chewy, high tannins that thrash up the mid-palate a bit. This feels like it can really blossom with some aging. There is excellent complexity to the nose, but it isn't playing together while the structure is certainly overbearing. Hopefully this will blossom with time and show off what it can do.
something is a bit off with this bottle. It's a bit disjointed and unwieldy. There are some tones of white chocolate, custard, red apples, pears, smoke, and yellow flowers but they are simple and again disjointed.
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé 93 Points
France, Champagne
The nose is lifted, balanced, and refined with tones of biscuits, quince, strawberries, red cherries, rose petals, creamed peaches, toast, and some roasted nuts. This is really firing right now and showing off the poise of maturity. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and rounded as it shows off some weight from the autolytics along with crisp and integrated, high acidity. This is really lovely right now and is fully in the drinking window. There is plenty of age ahead of this, but it is well worth drinking now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2017 Gaja Langhe Rossj Bass 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
The nose is firmly in the creamy style of Chardonnay camp. There is a good bit of custard, brioche, vanilla extract, and marmalade along with bits of red apples and orange blossoms. The Full bodied feel is textured, richer, and creamy with medium acidity. This is more of a California-esque take on Chardonnay and it does it fairly well, but does miss the mark slightly in that it lacks some depth and is more focused on the process than expressive fruit.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1974 Gaja Barbaresco 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
The nose is faded and a bit drying out with balsamico notes, sour red cherries, autumn leaves, dried berries, earth notes, dried rose petals, and some violets. The Medium/Full bodied feel is mostly attack with there being a drop off on the mid-palate as well while possessing drying, high acidity and resolved tannins. This bottle was showing itself to be long in the tooth. So it goes….
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1978 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Where the 74 Barbaresco was fading, this is soaring! This shows off a restrained power to the tones of red cherries, raspberries, cranberries, licorice, dried herbs, earth notes, tobacco, savory tones, and a dose of violets. The Medium/Full bodied feel is deftly balanced like a light heavyweight fighter with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins that are pretty well resolved. This is a real beauty and the real kickoff to the Gaja lineup.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1999 Gaja Barbaresco 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
The nose is extremely perfumed, deep, and layered with refined tones of dark red cherries, raspberries, juniper berries, cranberries, black tea, licorice, roasted herbs, smoke, leather, and tobacco leaf notes. The nose is really soaring and one that is what I love about Nebbiolo in that the aromatics take hold and bring about imagination. The Full bodied feel is well balanced and layered with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is just lovely and a real delight as it is firing on all cylinders and easily showing off its pedigree.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2000 Gaja Barbaresco 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
This is a step down from the 99 as it isn't as layered or deep. It's still showing quite well though with a sense of class and poise to the tones of red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, roasted herbs, dust notes, spice tones, licorice, roasted herbs, and truffles. There is good complexity, but it doesn't kick into that next gear. The Full bodied feel is sexy and poised with mouthwatering, high acidity and silky, high tannins. This is really sexy and would likely fare better on its own rather than in a lineup. Regardless, this is lovely and showing extremely well.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2015 Gaja Barbaresco 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
The nose is a bit tight, but still very red-fruited and balanced with red cherries, strawberries, red berries, juniper berries, sweet tobacco, licorice, roasted herbs, and leather notes. The fruit shows quite well and fresh, but this is lacking some depth and is clearly a baby. The Full bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose as well as the freshness of fruit with crisp, high acidity and silky, high tannins. I would like to see where this goes when it gets closer to 15 years on. The structure is prominent while the nose is also a bit tight. There is a lot to like here though, and I can see this blossoming with age.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2014 Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco 88 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
The nose is fragrant but lacking depth and showing a bit too much oak along with tones of black cherries, raspberries, licorice, roasted herbs, tobacco notes, dusty tones, and violets. The Medium/full bodied feel is robust, but it lacks on the mid-palate and finish along with tart, high acidity and slightly stiff, high tannins. The tannins are a little underripe, but the feel does show off good balance. This is still a pretty good wine, it just isn't up to normal Gaja quality.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2002 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
The nose is aromatic and balanced with tones of almond paste, brioche, fresh ginger, red apples, pears, crushed rocks, saline, white flowers, toast, biscuits, and some baking spices. There is excellent depth and poise here as the nose has clearly entered its mature phase. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and silky with crisp, high acidity that is integrated and mouthwatering. Yet again, this is gorgeous and in a wonderful place. It has reached a level of maturity where it has shed its youth but there are still some primary notes though they are balanced well together.
Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
The nose is deep and layered with this soaring right now as it permeates in the glass with flowing tones of red cherries, raspberries, herbal spice notes, roasted herbs, violets, licorice, earth, tobacco leaf notes, and some tar. Oh how I wish I just had a bottle of this in front of me as I want to spend a lot of time with it. This is that kind of nose that gets me off my chair and makes me take notice. The Full bodied feel shows off the depth and layering of the nose as well as possessing a refined sense, if on a larger scale. The high acidity is mouthwatering and crisp while the high tannins are noticeable, but have clearly pulled back a fair bit. This is just beautiful right now. There isn't much to say past that.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2001 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
This is more of a bruiser and with more heft behind it to the tones of dark red cherries, raspberries, juniper berries, licorice, earth notes, some dusty tones, roasted herbs, violets, and some potpourri to round it all out. There is excellent depth, balance, and poise to the nose as it holds the heftier style quite well and with a bit of swagger. The Full bodied feel carries through the balance and depth of the nose along with tart, high acidity and punchy, high tannins. This is a fun comparison to the 99. This seemed more of a powerhouse but with a gentle side while still showing the class that one expects from Gaja.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2014 Gaja Barolo Sperss 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The nose is lifted and aromatic with a more modern backdrop to the nose, filled with tones of red cherries, strawberries, juniper berries, violets, licorice, spice notes, and some tobacco leaf tones. There is an elegance to the tones, but it lacks some depth and is a bit tight right now. The Medium/full bodied feel is well balanced and with a slightly more robust take along with tart, high acidity and taught, high tannins. The tannins have a bit of stiffness to them even within their youth. This is a Barolo that shows a bit of the vintage, but it really needs a bit of time to fully settle and reveal what it may be down the line.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2000 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Costa Russi 95 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
The nose is perfumed and extremely aromatic as it fills the glass with balanced tones of red cherries, raspberries, strawberries, fresh picked red berries, licorice, thyme, roasted herbs, spice notes, tobacco leaf, and a good bit of savory herbs. The nose was firing on all cylinders and this was deeply layered. The Medium/full bodied is deft yet robust with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins that still have a bit of bite. The feel is pure silk as it shows off a more mature side while still being vibrant and fresh. This is right in its pomp and a real joy to drink.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1998 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
The nose is slightly brutish but with balance and depth to the tones of red cherries, raspberries, savory herbs, spice notes, licorice, dust tones, violets, and some balsamico that pokes through. This was showing just a bit drying and older even compared to the wines that were older. The Full bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose as well as the slightly balsamic character with crisp, high acidity and resolving, high tannins. This is showing a little long in the tooth, or it was never that interesting in the first place. Either way, while this is a really good Gaja, its more in the middle of the road on the night.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
2013 Gaja Barolo Conteisa 91 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The nose is a bit ornery and while it shows off good depth, it is a bit tight and takes a few goes to really take it all in. The tones of black cherries, raspberries, licorice, cranberries, sweet tobacco, violets, roasted herbs, and liqueur tones take a bit to show themselves, but its not all working on the same team at the moment. The Medium/full bodied feel has some raw power behind it with racy, high acidity and chewy, high tannins that thrash up the mid-palate a bit. This feels like it can really blossom with some aging. There is excellent complexity to the nose, but it isn't playing together while the structure is certainly overbearing. Hopefully this will blossom with time and show off what it can do.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2004 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
something is a bit off with this bottle. It's a bit disjointed and unwieldy. There are some tones of white chocolate, custard, red apples, pears, smoke, and yellow flowers but they are simple and again disjointed.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No