Gaja

[brappy]

Went to a tasting the other day and am just now getting the time to type this up. We tasted 8 Gaja wines. My notes are brief to non-existant.

***Sori' San Lorenzo, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2001
95% Nebbiolo, 5% Barbera; This is one beautiful wine. Ready to drink now with red and black vibrant fruit, some dried currant, touch of mineral added to the palate. I could see this wine lasting for 3 decades or more.
***Costa Russi, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2001
95% Nebbiolo, 5% Barbera; Very similar to the above wine but at the moment not as friendly. This wine is at a stage that when tasting, my saliva was turning sweet. The fruit was just that powerful. I suspect this one will develop wonderfully, again, for 30+ years.
***Sperss, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2001
94% Nebbiolo, 6% Barbera; This was the WOTT for me. Ready to drink now with youthful red and black cherries and a touch of earth (that's only if you could get past the fruit). The host mentioned some truffle on the palate; I didn't get it. But the finish of this wine was like the energizer bunny; kept going and going and going and...
***Darmagi, Langhe DOC 2001
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc; The fruit was vibrant; a touch of cedar and espresso; sturdy backbone but it had a touch of green to it that I just don't care for. I was the only one at the tasting that mentioned this. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this flavor. I left this wine wondering if that flavor would resolve itself with time(and this wine has the structure to last 20, 30 or more years), but at this price I won't buy any to test that theory.
***Conteisa, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2001
92% Nebbiolo, 8% Barbera; This one was very similar to the Sperss except the nose and palate weren't congruous. I couldn't help but wonder if the small difference in %s of grapes made this difference.
***Barbaresco, Barbaresco DOCG 2001
Nebbiolo; Fun wine but needed more time to open. Plums, licorice, and coffee on the palate and nose; a little red fruit added to the nose.
***Sugarille, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 1998
Sangiovese; Barnyard nose (almost feculant but in a good way if that's possible) also red fruits with a touch of black and boysenberry. Very intriguing, enough that I had to keep on tasting to see what else was in this wine. Lots of layers.
***Rennina, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 1999
Sangiovese; What struck me when tasting this was the thought: Anyone would love this wine. Soft velvety texture, candied red fruits, soft tannins. From a beginning wine geek to a seasoned wino, this wine just coats the inside of your mouth with yummy(yes I said that) fruit flavors. The finish is just long enough to entice you to keep on going.

All of the wines, with the exception of the sangioveses, were double decanted and then sat for 1.5 hrs in the bottle and .5 hrs in the glass. We tasted and then took the leftover wine to another table for lunch. All of this wine was great with food. I went through all of these wines again with the food and they just got better.

The cost of these wines will keep these beauties out of my cellar(a real SHAME)but if anyone gets a chance to taste these, I couldn't recommend these enough. The Rennina may be just above $100/btl but the rest will vary from $200/btl to just under $500/btl. I have a hard time parting with that much money per bottle; on the other hand, No one would be disapointed with what they were drinking.

As a side note, the restaurant in which we had the tasting is called Della Notte. This is on the edge of Little Italy in the heart of Baltimore. The food is great for the most part; but what really stands out is the wine list. I could sit for hours and read it like a good novel. (http://dellanotte.com/baltimore_wine_list.htm)

mark

[This message has been edited by brappy (edited 03-27-2006).]

[This message has been edited by brappy (edited 03-27-2006).]

[dananne]

Sounds like a fun time and a great opportunity to drink some things that otherwise you'd never get to try (at least I'd never get to try -- not at those price tags). Thanks for the vicarious pleasure!

[TheEngineer]

Nice notes. Makes me wanna try and see what this Gaja thing is all about....if someone wants to fund my studies..... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img] Was there a fee for this tasting? or was this part of a mean.

Also did the Demargi Langhe Nebbiolo did not contain any nebbiolo? (was the CB a typo and really Nebbiolo?)

Thanks again! Nicely written so much so that I felt I was right beside you!

[brappy]

Eng, I was copying and pasting. So, no, it is CS mostly and from the appelation Langhe. I've edited the post. And no, no cost, just one of those industry tastings........one that I jumped at. And Dananne, you're right, that's why I jumped at it.

mark

[wondersofwine]

I was able to try Gaja Sperss one time at a tasting in Raleigh. Also ate at Della Notte once in Baltimore but my favorite in Little Italy used to be Boccaccio. Don't know if it is still as good. Luciano Pavarotti has dined there.