More wines available from Angelo Gaja
Pre-Arrival
Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 1998
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$258.91
Subtle and perfumed, with rose, raspberry and strawberry. Full-bodied, with very silky tannins and a long finish....
Pre-Arrival
Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 2006
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$391.95
The 2006 Barbaresco reveals terrific concentration, depth and purity. This is a remarkably soft, harmonious...
Pre-Arrival
Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 2013
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$211.95
The 2013 Barbaresco is fabulous. In fact, this is one of the best Barbarescos I have tasted at Gaja in many years....
Pre-Arrival
Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 2014
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$216.95
This isn't just a great wine for what was a notoriously cool, wet vintage, it's quite simply a magnificent wine....
Pre-Arrival
Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 2015
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$216.62
Woodland berry, blue flower, sunbaked soil and a whiff of dark spice shape the nose. Structured and extremely...
More Details
Winery
Angelo Gaja
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is widely considered to be one of the finest varietals of white wine grapes. The green skinned fruit is notable for ripening relatively early in the year, due to the fact that it prefers milder temperatures and cannot maintain its distinctive flavors in hot climates. As such, it has become a favorite grape varietal for wineries in many very different countries around the world, where it can benefit from brisk, coastal breezes and mild early summers. Sauvignon Blanc is revered for its freshness and zesty character, and generally produces wines which are dry and very crisp on the palate. However, there are a wide variety of wines produced from this wonderfully versatile grape – with many wineries preferring to age the fermented juices in oak, or allowing malolactic fermentation to add a creamier, buttery finish to the grassy and tropical, citrus flavors it often carries.
Region: Piedmont
The region of Piedmont in the cool, breezy north-western part of Italy is renowned throughout the world for high quality, flavorful and delicious red wines, and for the elegant and refined sparkling wines such as Asti which typify the area. The region is located at the foothills of the Alps, close to the French and Swiss borders, and benefits from some interesting micro-climates formed by its proximity to the mountain range. The key grapes for the fine red wines of Piedmont are Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera – all powerful varietals which are packed full of a range of fruit flavors and which have an affinity for oak making them ideal for aging When it comes to the sparkling Asti, wineries cultivate plenty of Moscato grapes, whose relative transparency make them ideal for expressing their terroir and providing some interesting flavors in the bottle.
Country: Italy
It isn't difficult to understand why Italy is famed not just for the quality of its wines, but also for the vast variety and range of characteristics found in the wines there. The terrain of the country varies wildly, from the lush rolling green hills and valley of Tuscany, to the sun drenched rocky coasts of Sicily, the mountainous and alpine regions of the north, and the marshy lowlands of the east. Italy really does have a little bit of everything. Combine this huge range of landscapes with an almost perfect climate for grape cultivation, and you have a country seemingly designed for viticultural excellence. The results speak for themselves, and it is clear to see that wine has become an inseparable part of Italian culture as a result of its abundance and brilliance. Each village, city and region has a local wine perfectly matched with the cuisine of the area, and not an evening passes without the vast majority of Italian families raising a glass of locally sourced wine with pride and pleasure.