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Recent Releases of Angelo Gaja

A Note from Sergio            

In Barbaresco, the most famous producers are Bruno Giacosa and Angelo Gaja. Giacosa has the justifiable reputation for being an uncompromising traditionalist; Gaja has the reputation of being a modernist. But while Giacosa's traditionalism is absolute, unwavering and set in flawless stone, Gaja's modernism flows like water. It's there when he needs to drink deep from the modernist stream, but it flows around those times when he relies on the bedrock of traditionalism. This give-and-take relationship with winemaking methods that defines Gaja, a man who might be best (and most oxymoronically) termed a forward-thinking traditionalist.

Let me explain. Angelo Gaja's best-kept secret might very well be his closet traditionalism. As a person, Gaja is incredibly clever, charismatic and a natural at marketing his wines--as well as those of Barbaresco in general. When he assumed control of his father's estate, he rightly recognized that the world didn't know much about Barbaresco, and he realized that in order to open the door to his wines, he might have to play fast and loose with the tried-and-true traditions that had defined Barbaresco for centuries. He planted international varietals, including Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and he began playing with barrique, using both big wood and small wood to age his wines. While Gaja might have begun these endeavors in an effort to woo international palates, he ended up making outrageously good wines, like his Gaia & Rey. Making good wine that was recognizable to the global palate, Gaja helped bring the wines of Barbaresco to collectors' attention, to their cellars and to their tables.

And here's the thing: while other modernist winemakers have now come to rediscover traditional methods, Gaja never stopped using them. He nudged the door open with modernist methods, but the core of Gaja's philosophy has always come from traditional methods. While others denigrated well-aged and super-large botti, shunned natural yeasts and were abhorred by the thought of any natural molds in the cellar, Gaja unceremoniously continued to use each of these things to bring magic to his wines. Gaja may grow Chardonnay; he may choose to add Barbera to his single-vineyard Barbarescos--and then declassify them; he may have the bravura to mix the old and the new, the modernist and the traditional; but these are the things that make him not only one of Italy's great winemakers but also unclassifiable. It's not a bad position to hold.

Taste one of Gaja's crus, and you taste the poetry of Barbaresco terroir. These are wines of a specific place (an old place), made in specific methods (that defy categorization), by a modern man (who is at heart a traditionalist).  Looks can be deceiving, but taste never is. Savor a bottle of Gaja and appreciate the surface while marveling at the still, quiet, ancient and beautiful depths.  

My Best,