SOUTHERN / AMERICAN / PACIFIC WINE & SPIRITS® Gaja Barbaresco – 6057035858079

About This Wine:

This wine made history when it became one of the earliest single-vineyard bottlings of Nebbiolo in Piedmont with the 1967 vintage. Sourced from the GAJA winery’s top growing site, San Lorenzo, located just south of the village of Barbaresco in the famed cru Secondine, the wine is made with 95% Nebbiolo grapes and 5% Barbera. This practice hails back to the earliest era of Barbaresco, when the lighter-bodied Barbera was traditionally blended into the tannic Nebbiolo to temper its power and structure.

In 2000, with the release of the legendary 1996 vintage, GAJA decided to reclassify this wine and use the Langhe DOC appellation on the label, ommitting the Barbaresco DOCG. In part, the motivation for this change was purely semantic. As the number of single-vineyard bottlings grew in the 1990s, their popularity began to eclipse the importance of the traditional, classic Barbaresco, a cuvee or blend of many different vineyards. In a sense, the gesture was meant as a testament to the winery’s steadfast belief that Barbaresco is one of the great wines of the world and should be accompanied rather than overshadowed by its single-vineyard fellows.

Wine Notes
Color: Deep red
Aroma: Highly concentrated currant and black cherry fruit with a hint of coffee, in addition to aromas of fine herbs, minerals and exotic spices.
Taste: Almost always the most powerful and austere of Gaja’s five single-vineyard wines, requiring a longer time to fully develop. A very focused, concentrated wine with a long, lingering finish and refined tannins, it has excellent aging potential.

Grape Variety Used: 100% Nebbiolo
Alcohol Level: 14.50%

97+ Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous:
“The 2014 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is the most virile and explosive of Gaja’s Barbarescos. Dark, brooding and powerful, with a huge spine of tannin, the San Lorenzo is utterly regal in the glass. Gravel, smoke, menthol, tar, licorice and a host of sepia-toned fruits build into a crescendo of aromas and flavors that is truly compelling. What a gorgeous wine this is.” – Antonio Galloni (Oct 2017)

95 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:
“Gaja’s 2014 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is clearly at the beginning of a long and promising aging trajectory. At it’s core, it shows a pinch of nervous energy and inner tightness that will surely unravel and soften as this beautiful wine continues along its magical journey in time. Angelo Gaja and his family present spectacular results in this controversial 2014 vintage. They have risen far above most of their peers and have shown a keen ability to understand their site and the versatility of their cherished Nebbiolo grape. The variety sings with a loud and exuberant voice, first offering plenty of primary fruit like blackberry and dried cherry. It then follows up with savory earth and spice. This is a bright and youthful wine that is set steady for a long aging future.” – Monica Larner (29th Dec 2017)

95 Points & “Collectibles” – Wine Spectator Magazine:
“Earthy notes lead off, followed by cherry, plum, graphite and tobacco flavors. Starts out broad and muscular, with a thick layer of tannins for support, yet gains elegance with aeration. A tad austere on the finish, but stays vibrant and long. Best from 2021 through 2036. 170 cases imported.” – BS (Nov 15, 2017)

95 Points – James Suckling:
“This is closed at first – indeed it’s just a baby – but soon opens up with some air to display wild strawberries, red cherries, cedar and nutmeg. The palate is full but very tight and refined, showing firm, grippy tannins that need time, driven acidity and a long, minerally finish. Better in 2020.” – (October 20, 2017)

94 Points & “Cellar Selection” – Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
“Forest floor, Porcini mushroom, eucalyptus, dark spice and toasted aromas curl out of the glass. It’s youthfully austere, offering cranberry, sour cherry and licorice framed in assertive, close-grained tannins. It still needs time to come around and fully bloom. Drink 2024–2034.” – Kerin O’Keefe (3/1/2018)