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Barolo Wines

Barolo Wines

Barolo Wines

Top Rated Barolo Wines

Italy’s food culture is one of the first things people associate with the country, and not without good reason. After all, some of the most ubiquitous dishes and meals in many kitchens are improvised versions of popular Italian food. And where there’s good food, you will always find good wine. Take a journey to Piedmont, and you will find one of the most intense, most recognizable wines on the planet. There’s no Barolo without Italy, and, some would argue, no Italy without Barolo.

You can always recognize a Barolo by its potent, sharp acidity and rich, full-bodied nature. Aromatics and flavors tend to include dried rose petals, tar, and expressive fruit. Like any great wine, Barolo comes in many styles, as the terroir of the region is not the same everywhere. This gives an adventurous appeal to each bottle of Barolo, as you get intimate with a producer’s unique style and take on this Italian classic. It’s never “just a Barolo,” it’s always “this special Barolo.” Every sampling brings something new, and you can never get bored.

Another characteristic of a Barolo done right is staggering aging potential, which, when combined with very affordable prices, makes the wine a joy to collect and drink. Serve it with a large feast or a platter of fine cheese – it’s up to you. Alternatively, hold off for a decade or so, and experience an entirely different flavor package. A good Barolo knows no generational gaps or language barriers and will send your guests soaring towards the stars.

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2007 Gaja Barolo Conteisa

Blueberry and lemon aromas follow through to a full body, with firm and racy tannins and a delicate finish. This is refined and polished. Drink after 2013.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2007 Langhe Conteisa is impeccably ripe and silky on the palate, with expressive La Morra red fruits, flowers, mint and spices that emerge from the glass. This is another soft, seamless wine from Gaja, with gorgeous purity in the fruit that carries through all the way to the deeply satisfying, creamy finish. The tannins remain impeccably refined and beautifully balanced with the fruit. The wine is likely to firm up a touch in bottle, but it should be one of the most accessible of Gaja’s 2007s. The 2007 is easily among the finest Conteisas ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPFull medium red. Rather unforthcoming but mellow aromas of plum, mocha and licorice. Silky on entry, then more tightly wound toward the back in spite of its plush, layered texture. Lovely raspberry, spice and underbrush flavors blast through the building, granular tannins on the long aftertaste.Vinous Media | 94 VM

95
RP
As low as $1,449.00
2011 Gaja Barolo Conteisa

This is wonderfully succulent and refined with blueberry, lavender and sandalwood aromas and flavors. Botanical, with some juniper. Medium body with integrated, polished tannins and a long finish. Very pretty. The salted-meat undertones on the palate make it very savory. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2011 Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa is an irresistible wine with enormous depth, beauty and penetration. It sweeps over the palate in opulent waves with dark fruit, spice, leather and grilled herbs. It also shows a distinct balsam personality with cola and dried violets that give the wine a beautiful sense of aromatic lift and buoyancy. Langhe Conteisa is made with Nebbiolo (and a tiny part Barbera) from the Cerequio vineyard in La Morra. The 2011 vintage is slightly broader than past vintages, but this wine promises a long drinking evolution regardless.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2011 Conteisa is a forward, open-knit wine with good depth and plenty of near-term appeal. At the same time, the move towards a lighter style that has defined the Gaja wines over the last few years is very much in evidence. Cinnamon, sweet red cherries, herbs, mint and wild flowers add nuance. Even with time in the glass, the Conteisa remains succulent nuanced, with less of the opulence that is found in so many other wines. Conteisa emerges from a handful of parcels in La Morra’s Cerequio vineyard.Vinous Media | 91 VMThis is reticent today, with more savory and underbrush flavors than cherry notes, which remain buried for now. Reveals a lovely texture and energy, showing potential. Best from 2019 through 2029. 1,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

94
ML
As low as $1,489.00

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