2023 Gaja Barbaresco

94 ptsLimited Stock!
Simply one of Italy's most iconic and sought-after wines.

Price:
Sale price$749.00
Stock:
Re-stocking, ships in 2-5 business days
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Description

”Angelo Gaja is easily Italy’s most consistently brilliant producer.”
- Antonio Galloni (The Wine Advocate)

Few wine regions are so closely tied to a single name. Back when hardly anyone cared about Barbaresco, and it sat in the shadow of big brother Barolo, Gaja backed it with real innovation and bravery. That helped lift the whole region, and this estate Barbaresco is where the story starts.

It's drawn from 14 vineyards across the communes of Barbaresco and Treiso, including Asili, Rabajà, Faset, Roncagliette and the Pajorè sites. Each plot is fermented and aged separately for 12 months in French oak. The parts are then blended and spend another 12 months in big Slavonian oak botti. That's a lot of care for one bottle of Nebbiolo.

Gaia Gaja says 2023 brought a wet spring and a very hot summer, which made big, juicy berries. The result isn't diluted, though. Expect cedar, rooibos tea, warm spice and spring flowers, then bright forest berries wrapped in long, silky tannins and a zesty, spiced citrus finish. It's lovely now, but it'll happily sit in the cellar too. Save it for a special dinner, ideally something slow-cooked.

94 points
"It conveys a sense of ethereal weightlessness and delicacy with strength.. It feels ready to drink yet is not in a hurry."
- Michaela Morris (Decanter)

94 points - "Despite extreme summer heat, the excessive rain in spring generated big berries with lots of juice, according to Gaia Gaja. Rather than translating as dilution, the estate Barbaresco is beautifully proportioned. It conveys a sense of ethereal weightlessness and delicacy with strength. Starting from aromas of cedar and rooibos tea, it evolves to cinnamon, cardamom and spring flowers. Midweight and streamlined, this stretches out with long, silky tannins effortlessly enfolding bright forest berries. Accents of clove and star anise are neatly embedded. A zesty finish explodes with spiced citrus. It feels ready to drink yet is not in a hurry." - Michaela Morris (Decanter)

Importer's Notes:

Barbaresco. Rare is it in the modern wine world where just one producer within a region is so intrinsically linked to the name itself. Gaja’s innovation and bravery at a time when no-one really cared for Barbaresco has helped all boats rise with the tide in a region that was over shadowed by it’s bigger brother Barolo for generations.

Gaja’s Barbaresco is sourced from 14 different vineyards over the communes of Barbaresco and Treiso, labelled as Barbaresco D.O.P. The Barbaresco vineyards of Loreto (Ovello), Castello (Cavanna), Masuè, Faset, Roncagliette, Roncagliette Vecchio, Roncagliette Nuovo, Bernino (Ovello), Bricco, Valdrap (Asili) and Rabajà blended with the Treiso vineyards of Pajorè Sotto, Pajorè Sopra, Pajorè Università.

The grapes are fermented separately plot by plot & aged separately for 12 months in French oak. The component parts are then blended then aged another 12 months in Slavonian oak botti.
IDDA means "she" in the Sicilian dialect—a term of endearment and reverence that Sicilians use to refer to Mount Etna.

This wine is predominantly Nerello Mascalese with a touch of Nerello Cappuccio, and comes entirely from the Biancavilla vineyard, located on the southern slopes of Mount Etna. The site is southwest-facing and sits at an elevation between 700 and 800 meters above sea level. The vineyard was planted in 1975.

Fermentation takes place in a combination of stainless steel and seasoned wood vessels, with 25–30% whole bunches included. After fermentation, the wine is pressed off to barrel.

About 80% of the barrels used are large-format—2,000L and 4,000L—made from French and Austrian oak, with a small number of 700L barrels from the same origins. Each component is aged separately for 18 months before blending. The final wine is bottled three months after blending.

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Nebbiolo
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Reviewed By Decanter
Critic Score 94
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Cork

Gaja

The Gaja family has been producing wine in the hills of Barbaresco, Piedmont since 1859. But it was under the leadership of Angelo Gaja from the 1960s that the estate rose to global prominence, redefining what Italian fine wine could be. Today, his children - Gaia, Rossana, and Giovanni - are guiding the next chapter of the family legacy.

Gaja’s wines are a benchmark of modern Italian winemaking - bold, polished, and built for the long haul. Single-vineyard bottlings like Sorì Tildìn and Costa Russi broke new ground for Barbaresco, while plantings of Cabernet and Chardonnay challenged tradition and put Langhe on the world stage.

Beyond Barbaresco, the family now crafts celebrated wines from Bolgheri and Montalcino, and most recently, from the volcanic slopes of Etna under the IDDA label - a joint project with Alberto Graci that’s turning heads for its purity and poise. Wherever they go, Gaja remains a symbol of innovation, ambition, and Italian excellence.

The Gaja family Gaja

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