Gaja Barbaresco DOP 2020

Description

Gaja Barbaresco 2020 is arguably Gaja’s flagship Piedmontese wine, a wine that the family have been making since 1859. It is 100% Nebbiolo sourced from the family’s various vineyards located in the municipality of Barbaresco. Gaja Barbaresco 2020 is bottled as a DOP, a Denominazione di Origine Protetta.

Gaja is simply one of the most famous Italian wine producers. The business was founded in 1859 in Langhe, Piedmont by Giovanni Gaja and it is his great grandson, Angelo Gaja, who currently runs the company. They are most famous for classic Piedmont wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco. Indeed, Angelo has often been referred to as the “King of Barbaresco” and has been responsible for developing techniques that have revolutionised winemaking in Italy. Gaja also produce wines in Tuscany as well as Piedmont and bought their first property in Tuscany called Pieve Santa Restituta in 1994 which was swiftly followed by the second Tuscan property, Ca’Marcanda, located at Castagneto Carducci in Bolgheri, in 1996. Whereas the concentration in Piedmont and at Pieve Santa Restituta is on more traditional wines, the focus at Ca’Marcanda is on international grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot) and “Super-Tuscan” style blends like the Promis and Magari.

The grapes for the Gaja Barbaresco are sourced from 14 vineyards around the villages of Barbaresco and Treiso. The vineyards are located at a height between 250 and 330 m above the sea level and cover a surface area of 21.4 hectates. The vines have an average age of 45 years old. Thegrapes from each vineyard are vinified separately and are fermented separately in stainless-steel vats for approximately 20 days, depending on the vintage. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine is racked to barriques, where malolactic fermentation takes place. The separate lots are aged for 12 months in barriques (20% news, the rest in first and second fill barrels) before the 14 lots are blended and racked to large Slavonian oak casks ranging in age from five to fifteen years for another period of ageing prior to bottling.

The 2020 vintage is reminiscent of the balanced fruit vintages of 2000 and 2004 where the finesse of Nebbiolo is apparent. The wines are characterized by precise and complex fruit expressions and clean and elegant aromas. They are wines that are already drinkable but will reward with time as the presence of fruit is always a guarantee of aging potential.