Gaja Barbaresco 2019
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
2019 Barbaresco has glaring vivid colors thanks to a good presence of anthocyanins. It immediately brings out notes of rose and wild strawberries followed by lighter notes of marzipan, wild fennel and a hint of juniper. Tasting saline, the wine has good length and a perception of crisp red fruits balanced by bright acidity. Together with the freshness and a tense structure, they define the main characteristics of the 2019 vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A complex red, this reveals multidimensional aromas and flavors of rose, cherry, licorice, mineral and spices. This is fused to a vibrant structure that, for now, gives a taut, almost racy profile. Marrying power and grace, this ends in a long, floral- and spice-tinged aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2045.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Gaja did not make its cru wines from Barbaresco (like Sorì San Lorenzo) in 2019 because the vineyards suffered repercussions one year after severe hail storms struck in 2018. Because of the irregularity found across the various sites, the best fruit was carefully selected and put into this wine instead. The 2019 Barbaresco is striking and beautiful as a result, with enormous depth and clarity. This is a generous wine with ample structure, lots of vibrant acidity, sweet tannins and a bright core of primary fruit. Rating: 95+
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James Suckling
This has aromas of iron, mineral, bitter chocolate, wild strawberries, raw walnuts, orange peel and decayed roses. Medium- to full-bodied, with sleek and very chalky tannins. Lots of fruit on the palate with a fine, fresh and mineral end. Pure and linear.
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Wine
Perched atop a steep hill in the Langhe sits the small village of Barbaresco, home of the GAJA winery. The story of the GAJA Winery can be traced to a singular, founding purpose: to produce original wines with a sense of place which reflect the tradition and culture of those who made it. This philosophy has inspired five generations of impeccable winemaking. It started over 150 years ago when Giovanni Gaja opened a small restaurant in Barbaresco, making wine to complement the food he served. In 1859, he founded the Gaja Winery, producing some of the first wine from Piedmont to be bottled and sold outside the region. Since that time, the winery has been shaped by each generation’s hand, notably that of Clotilde Rey, Angelo Gaja’s grandmother. Her passion for uncompromising quality influenced and informed Angelo Gaja. Through Angelo, these values have become the cornerstone of the GAJA philosophy and are engrained in every aspect of wine production
In 1961, Angelo Gaja began his mission of bringing this great winery to an even higher level. He was the first to use barriques, 225-liter French oak barrels. Under his direction, GAJA pioneered the production of single-vineyard designated wines and was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc varietals in Piedmont. He was also instrumental in elevating the native Nebbiolo grape to world-class esteem.
Angelo Gaja is joined by the fifth generation of the GAJA family – his daughters Gaia and Rossana and his son Giovanni. Together they continue to advance the winery’s legacy. To fully realize their vision, all GAJA wines are produced exclusively from grapes grown in estate-owned vineyards, including 250 acres in Piedmont’s Barbaresco and Barolo districts as well as estates in Pieve Santa Restituta (Montalcino) and Ca’Marcanda (Bolgheri). It is from these storied vineyards, and their terroir – the combination of soil, weather and vines that grow upon them, that GAJA wines reveal their true heart and soul.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.