Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 139

I TALY RE D
P I E D M O N T: B A R B A R E S C O

the flavors, driving the wine forward toward
a long, seamless finish. -S.J. § Terlato Wines
Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
276281

97 | Gaja

$250

2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi ^ Costa Russi,
a ten-acre plot just below Sorì Tildìn in the
Roncagliette MGA, enjoys southern and
western exposures; in 2016, it produced a
beautifully aromatic wine. It opens with a
garden of floral and herbal scents that lead
into precise flavors of red cherry, raspberry

and pomegranate. Notes of soft herbs and
green spice weave through the fruit tones,
buoyed by lively acidity that propels the flavors to a long, elegant finish. -S.J. § Terlato
Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL

BAROLO
276282

98 | Gaja

$270

2015 Barolo Conteisa ^ From the La Morra
side of the Cerequio MGA, the 2015 is deeply
resonant, its dark fruit tones layered with

276289

100 | Gaja

$250

98 | Gaja

$250

2016 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo ^ In
2004, the Gaja family began an intensive
program to improve their vineyards, implementing organic composting, taking steps
to increase biodiversity, and modifying the
pruning system with help from the respected
firm Simonit and Sirch. Work in the cellar
has also evolved; while the Barbarescos still
age in oak barrels, fewer are new, and barriques have been supplemented by larger
tonneaux. The family is also giving the wines
more time on the lees, to preserve freshness.
The investment paid off in 2016, a vintage
that has been characterized as near-perfect,
with timely rainfall, warm summer days and
cooler temperatures near harvest. According
to Gaia Gaja, the grapes ripened so evenly
and harmoniously that production was up
by about 15 percent. Gaja's 2016 Sorì San
Lorenzo sits atop the pinnacle, combining
power and concentration with sheer excitement. Its deep cherry tones take time to
unfurl, gradually gaining notes of licorice,
menthol, woodsy mushroom and dark spice
as the wine builds toward an electric crescendo. Firm, polished tannins inject a coolness that further energizes the wine and will
surely make this the longest-lived of Gaja's
glorious 2016 Barbarescos. -S.J. § Terlato
Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
276284
2016 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn ^ Angelo Gaja
made his first single-cru wine from this
eight-acre site south of Barbaresco village
in 1970. The wine included five percent of
barbera and was labeled a Langhe DOC until
2013 when, along with Gaja's other singlevineyard bottlings, it joined the Barbaresco
DOCG as a 100-percent nebbiolo wine. The
2016 Sorì Tildìn is darker and more sensuous
than its San Lorenzo sibling, unfolding with
saturated flavors of dark cherry, raspberry
and black truffle couched in velvety tannins.
Bursts of wild herbs and dark spice enliven

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E S . C O

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/gaja+sori+st+lorenzo+barbaresco+langhe+piemonte+italy/2016 https://www.avwines.com/pinot-noir-festival

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

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