Gaja Barbaresco 2009

Gaja was founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja in Barbaresco, and the family's name is now synonymous with the appellation. Angelo Gaja, the fourth generation, took over in 1961 at 21, convinced his father to build the house on estate-grown Barbaresco, and introduced stainless-steel fermentation, shorter maceration and barrique ageing in the 1960s and 70s, changes that were revolutionary and still debated. This is the flagship Barbaresco DOCG: 100% Nebbiolo from 14 estate vineyards in Barbaresco and Treiso, covering around 21 hectares at 250–330 metres. Gaja's three single-vineyard Barbarescos (Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildin and Costa Russi) were moved out of the DOCG in 1996 and are now labelled Langhe Nebbiolo, so this blend is the estate's classic Barbaresco, and Angelo refused to release 12,000 cases of 1984 when it fell short of his standards.

The result is a rich, round and fruity expression of each vintage, with strawberry, cherry and red fruit, plus blackberry, orange and floral notes, and sometimes mushroom, leather and wisps of smoke. The tannins are fine and well integrated in warm years and more austere in cooler ones, leaving a long, tarry, liquorice-edged finish.