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Times were tough in Piemonte in the early ’90s, as the area had been challenged by a succession of less-than-stellar vintages (prior, of course, to the six-year streak that ran from ’95 to ’01). It started Gaja thinking about terroirs outside Piemonte, particularly as he was regularly courted by admirers seeking his involvement in joint ventures. But Gaja wasn’t going to sign onto something that won cachet solely through his presence. Having galvanized Piemonte with modern techniques and illegitimate grapes, Gaja was looking for some established ground to grow on. Toscana’s Montalcino zone held the allure he was looking for, as well as what he considered a profound connection to Piemonte’s wine culture. Most significantly, an estate by the name of Pieve Santa Restituta needed someone just like him.
This was the opinion, at any rate, of Roberto Bellini, who had purchased the historic property in 1972 with his wife, Franca. Although they invested in new vineyards and cultivated those in existence, receiving favorable acknowledgments, they believed that the full potential of the land could be realized only with the involvement of a formidable talent. There was certainly some substantive history to honor here. A group of Christians fleeing persecution had established the property in the 4th century, erecting a church— Pieve di Santa Restituta—in honor of the eponymous martyr, Santa Restituta. Documents establish that wine (specifically, red) had been produced on estate grounds as early as the 12th century.
Upon Gaja’s formally entering into partnership with Bellini in 1994, the estate’s former name was reinstated (the Bellinis had changed it to Chiesa di Santa Restituta) in order to reflect the historical significance of the property. To a certain degree, it also signified the forthcoming transfer of creative control. Although Bellini attended to the ’04 vintage, he didn’t stick around much longer after that. Gaja assumed full creative control the very vintage thereafter, retaining the estate’s focus on two bottlings exclusively, the multisite Brunello Rennina and the single-vineyard Brunello Sugarille. The latter is regarded as the more structured of the two bottlings, given the site’s propitious positioning, soil composition (calcareous clay), and southern exposure. Both receive one year of aging in barrique followed by an equivalent period in large oak casks. Thereafter, they are refined in bottle for a period of two years prior to release.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Toscana
- Subregion: Brunello di Montalcino
While rooted in the tradition of the Langhe, Angelo Gaja has enriched this foundation with an openminded sensibility that marries traditional practices and technological innovation, thereby extending Piemonte’s international reach. His philosophy recognizes the Nebbiolo grape’s inherent capacity for creative expression, which enables it to accommodate the market’s desire for both oak-driven and tannic styles. (That said, however, it is important to note that his wines are never obfuscated by over-extraction or oak.) Though he has his detractors, their opposition has proved innocuous, as Gaja’s wines rival the world’s most acclaimed and sought-after bottlings. While regarded as expensive on release, they continue to appreciate, trading at premium prices and invariably elevating the price standard in Piemonte.
The Gaja estate’s qualitative supremacy and cachet are not solely attributable to Angelo. In fact, his father’s 1961 Barbaresco may be the most profound bottling of its designation ever to be produced. The Gaja name represents a legacy of quality that has evolved since the family emigrated from Spain over 300 years ago. Angelo maintained his family’s high standards of production while inaugurating a new stylistic direction—more often than not through measures that incited controversy. Foremost among these was his inaugural use of barrique in the vinification of his 1975 Barbaresco cuvée. Gaja is widely credited with having instituted this practice, the objective of which is to soften the formidable tannins of the Nebbiolo grape, thereby producing a wine that is richer and more concentrated in its fruit expression than traditional models. Other early efforts included the reduction of crop size, shortened pruning of Nebbiolo vines, and decreased fermentation periods.
The 1967 debut release of Sorì San Lorenzo began his pioneering work with the vinification of single-vineyard wines. This was succeeded by two additional crus, Sorì Tildin (1970) and Costa Russi (1978), both of which derive from the Roncagliette Vineyard. Each member of this legendary trio is both recognized for achieving a substantive period of maturation and avidly sought on the collector’s market, where all invariably enjoy a substantive degree of appreciation. Gaja didn’t stop there, however, going on to defy Piemonte’s varietal protocol by relaunching Cabernet Sauvignon’s presence in the region after nearly a century-long absence, a revolutionary act captured in the vineyard’s name, Darmagi— meaning“what a pity”—the expression his father would utter when he passed by the spot, formerly a Nebbiolo site. He continued to elicit unrest and disapprobation through his dedicated planting of Chardonnay in the Gaia & Rey Vineyard (1981), the source of his now famous eponymous bottling. This was followed shortly thereafter by a vineyard for Sauvignon Blanc—Alteni di Brassica.
As controversial as these acts may have been on an insular level, they ultimately constituted the fountainhead of Piemonte’s emergence on the world scene. Gaja didn’t merely implement modern approaches, he actively sought to draw attention to the Piemonte he was refashioning through savvy marketing techniques. In so doing, he fashioned an attractive, worldly identity for Piemonte in general and Barbaresco in particular, the latter of which had no identity to speak of in the late 1960s. Through it all, Gaja has steadfastly maintained a passionate commitment to fashioning a traditional Barbaresco cuvée—a profound homage to both his grandfather and father—that remains a defining expression in the genre. He also possesses property in the La Morra and Serralunga areas of Barolo, the sources, respectively, of his Conteisa and Sperss Nebbiolo Langhe bottlings.
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