Why is Gaja's wine so expensive??

[stevebody]

I met Angelo Gaja a couple of years ago and asked him point-blank why the wines were so freakin' expensive (to the horror of my distributors' rep, who turned a lovely shade of green), to which he replied, "I think they're good." (huge Latin shrug)

For that matter, why is Romanee-Conte so expensive? Bize-Leroy? Screaming Eagle? (Jean Phillips is no less appalled than we are at that $1000-a-bottle thing, especially since she sees very little of that) Same answer: someone will pay it. The root of it, as with all things wine-ish, goes back to Bordeaux. Gaja genuinely thinks his wine is as good as Mouton-Rothschild, so he charges for it. While humility is not something he's afflicted with, I can see his point. He didn't invent wine pricing and he believes what he sells is on a par with wines that get that sort of jack. What should he then charge? I believe he made the wrong choice and evidently Roberto does too. What would you price that bottle at? I'd ask maybe $85, all things considered. People do love Gaja wines and they pay it willingly...so maybe he's right and Roberto and I are dunces. There's no one final answer.