Gaja - Barbaresco 2019 (750ml)
The Wine Independent: 97 Points
Gaja's 2019 Barbaresco was bottled only a few days before this tasting but it already has sweet roses and red fruits on the nose with very subtle gentle spice notes. It has a great texture and flows gracefully across the palate. It feels very harmonious with plenty of refreshing acidity and finely integrated tannins. Sublimely elegant with a fine silt-like texture to the tannins it is poised beautifully understated and charming. Keep for 2 years and drink for up to 20 plus. Reviewed by: Susan Hulme Review date: 2022-07-13
koKerin O'Keefe: 96 Points
Heady aromas of rose violet forest berry and a whiff of oak-driven spice shape the nose. Smooth and full-bodied the elegantly structured palate delivers crushed raspberry licorice and coffee bean set against taut fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Drink 2025?2034. Kerin O?Keefe July 2022 ©kerinokeefe.com
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
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. ?B.S.
Wine Advocate: 95+ Points
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. Gaia Gaja tells me that she considers 2018 to be more structured and vertical; however but I love the richness and texture of this wine. The Gaja family has been working feverishly on an upcoming project to feature white wines. Although they have largely been keeping it under wraps we do know that they have 10 hectares of vines in a high elevation site (at 650 meters above sea level) in Trezzo Tinella in the Alta Langa region. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have been planted and room is also planned for Erbaluce Tomorasso Pinot Bianco and Incrocio Manzoni. There is one hectare of Nebbiolo and a little parcel of Pinot Noir. The idea is to make still wines not sparkling wines. If you've been listening to Angelo Gaja and his family in recent years they have all been praising the merits of Italian white wines. They go so far as to predict that the future of vino italiano will be white. Published: Aug 24 2023
