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94 By Robert Parker
93 By Wine Spectator
93 By James Suckling
Gaia Gaja tells me 2014 was one of the best vintages ever in Barbaresco, if not the best for her vineyards. She cites the prolonged growing season that continued at a slow rate during the cooler summer months only to speed up thanks to a heat spell at the very end, right before harvest. Nebbiolo loves slow maturity and a prolonged growth cycle: The 2014 vintage did indeed get off to an exceptionally slow start. The 2014 Barbaresco is not austere or astringent. Instead, it offers plump ripeness with rich fruit flavors backed by spice, licorice and tobacco. The wine offers good structure from the point of view of its tannins, yet there is no harshness or bitterness whatsoever. Drinking window 2018.2030
Producer
Gaja
Barbaresco would not be the same without Gaja’s iconic reputation. This venerable domaine not only drew worldwide attention to the region, but they have also shown the quality that is attainable not just with Nebbiolo, but with “outside” varieties as well. Their story started over 150 years ago, when Giovanni Gaja founded the winery in 1859 to complement the food in his restaurant. Today, the company is managed by the fourth and fifth generations, Angelo Gaja and his children. Over the years, the Gaja name has grown to represent not only exceptional quality, but unique and intriguing flavors that are unlike any others from the region. The single-vineyards are a blend of Nebbiolo and Barbera, like all the wine produced before the introduction of the DOCG denomination. This denomination was established in 1966, and it is mandatory for the wines to be 100% Nebbiolo. For this reason, he declassified most of his single-vineyard wines and took the denomination of Langhe Nebbiolo DOC instead, in order to reach the specific style he desired. Gaja currently produces a total of twelve different Piemontese wines, as well as, seven Tuscan wines from Montalcino and Bolgheri.