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A virtually perfect effort is the 1997 Sperss (30,000 bottles), which represents the essence of truffles, earth, and black cherries in its striking aromatics and multidimensional, opulent, full-bodied palate. The acidity seems low because of the huge glycerin levels and prodigious concentration of fruit, but I suspect it is normal in the scheme of oenological measurement. This profound wine requires 3-4 years of cellaring, and should age well for 30-35 years.A genius for sure, Angelo Gaja can not be faulted for what he puts in the bottle. This work of art is worth every cent it will fetch.Robert Parker | 99 RPAdmittedly, Gaja’s 1997 Sperss doesn’t quite hit the high notes it so often does. More often than not, the 1997 has been pretty much open for business, but this bottle is more reticent than other recent examples.Vinous Media | 97 VMDark ruby. Loads of blackberry, vanilla and milk chocolate on the nose. Turns to licorice and flowers. Full-bodied, with a subtle tannin structure and fresh and focused fruit. Balanced and pretty wine. Just starting to open.--1997 Italian blind retrospective. Best from 2008 through 2017. 2,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

A banner wine for Gaja, the 2010 Sori San Lorenzo brings the infinite and ethereal aromas associated with Nebbiolo into startling focus and clarity. Again, like the Sori Tildin, the structure and tannic firmness of the wine will carry the wine forward over the years and decades ahead. It demands much more time until it fully blossoms. I walked through the San Lorenzo vineyard with Gaia Gaja and she showed me some of their recent activity. Every second row is planted with barley that acts as a natural rototiller given its aggressive root system. Borrowing other “New World” ideas, they’ve started compost piles with Californian red worms and are using (with less success, I’m told) wooden tree boxes to repopulate the birds. All of this must seem very odd to the neighbors. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.Just a short while ago, in the midst of one of Italy’s darkest political hours when forming a functioning government seemed like an exercise in futility, someone sent me a Facebook petition proposing Angelo Gaja as a candidate for President of the Republic of Italy. Although Angelo himself would brush it off as jest, that seedling of a (good) idea took the Internet by firestorm. What he has demonstrated over the years, besides from his infectious enthusiasm and keen ability to communicate his thoughts with brilliant clarity and gumption, is a natural ability for leadership. Barbaresco is lucky to have an Angelo Gaja, the Langhe is lucky to have him, and Italy is, too.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2010 Sorì San Lorenzo jumps from the glass with lavender, violets, plums, smoke and licorice, all in a lifted, precise style built on finesse. The tannins are remarkably sweet and polished for such a young wine. The pulsating fruit and sense of structure are reminiscent of the 1999, but here, there is perhaps a little more finesse and slightly more compelling balance.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGAromas of marble, dried cherries and iron, with hints of iodine. Full-bodied, tannic and chewy, yet balanced and refined all the same. This needs the most age of the single-vineyard, 2010 Gaja Nebbiolos. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSThis muscular red features ample fruit, with a fine quality to the stiff tannins, offering loads of cherry, tar and sandalwood flavors, with excellent length. Give this a few years. Best from 2016 through 2032. 500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

How many dinners anywhere start with a wine on a level with the 2010 Ornellaia? I imagine not many. But that’s exactly the way we get going. Super-expressive aromatics soar out of the glass as the 2010 shows off its personality. Sweet herbs, tobacco, licorice, mocha and tar wrap around a core of intense dark fruit. Racy, powerful and majestic, the 2010 is a total stunner.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGPoured from the special anniversary bottle, the 2010 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is a truly outstanding wine that leaves a lasting memory for those who are lucky enough to enjoy it. What stands out is the absolutely seamless-seamless-seamless (yes, it’s worth repeating three times) integration of its many moving parts. The wine magically transitions from cherry, spice, chocolate and espresso in one melodic and continuous loop. It exudes balance and elegance over long, delicious minutes. It is profoundly impressive. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. Of all the grapevines planted on the Ornellaia estate, the 2010 vintage showed best results with Merlot, says Leonardo Raspini. Because the harvest was later than usual, the early-ripening grape enjoyed a slow and steady evolution.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2010 Ornellaia celebrates the wine’s 25th anniversary, and it could not have been a more spectacular vintage. It opens with aromas of crushed blue flowers, black berries, pipe tobacco and thyme that give way to an elegant, structured and polished palate. It delivers intense blackberry flavors layered with white pepper, Mediterranean herbs, mineral and mocha brightened by fresh acidity alongside smooth, velvety tannins. This will age and develop for decades. Drink 2016–2040.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA wine with a wonderful depth of berry, chocolate and hazelnut character. Full-bodied with velvety tannins and a round, delicious finish. Fruit-forward and exuberant: more in-your-face fruit to this wine than in many past vintages. Enticing all the same. This comes in a special bottle commemorating the 25th anniversary of the wine coming onto the market. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 95 JSA muscular, impenetrable red, with tightly wound tannins guiding the black cherry, plum, herb, soy and oak spice flavors. Monolithic today, this needs time to find equilibrium. Best from 2016 through 2032. 2,200 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Luca Currado is on a roll. This is the third vintage (in as many years) that blows me off my feet. The 2010 Barolo Riserva Villero is a spectacular achievement and a wine that we all aspire to have in our cellars. There is a level of truism here—an authentic portrait of the Nebbiolo grape—that is outstanding. The fruit from Villero saw 45 days of skin maceration and few rackings. The wines of Vietti are always made in reduction to guarantee their long aging future. The bouquet offers many fleeting aromas that add to its enormous complexity. You get wild berry, licorice, anise seed and a touch of iron rust. On average, this very special wine is only released every four years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThis Barolo is built on an expansive scale and it has a stunning concentration that literally takes your breath away. Although it’s already seven years old, the beautifully crafted tannins and acidity make this very lively at the super long finish. Drink or hold. This has several decades of life ahead of it.James Suckling | 98 JSVirile and imposing in the glass, the 2010 Barolo Riserva Villero packs a serious punch. Swaths of tannin wrap around a huge core of fruit in a dark, virile Barolo that shows the more brooding side of the vintage. Sage, tobacco, menthol, violet and smoke add nuance throughout. Readers will have to be patient, as the tannins are likely to remain formidable for many years to come. As outstanding as the Villero is, it is never the most compelling Barolo in the Vietti range. Frankly, the pricing for the Riserva is more the result of managed scarcity rather than purely of the quality of what is in the bottle.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGA harmonious red, this features expressive aromas of rose, cherry, licorice, tar and tobacco. The dense, refined tannins are beginning to mellow, and this is starting to reveal its potential. Still has a ways to go, so forget about it for another two to three years. Best from 2021 through 2043. 300 cases made, 58 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Extremely perfumed and pretty with dried berry, orange peel and fruit tea on the nose. Full-bodied, extremely tight and refined with superb tannin quality that shows polish, finesse and beauty. It goes on for minutes on the palate. One for the cellar. Best wine ever from here. Needs three or four years to come together.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina is beautifully balanced and elegant. The wine is successfully streamlined and focused on the nuanced characteristics of the otherwise warm and sunny 2015 vintage. Rennina is often considered to be the more lithe and graceful of Gaja’s two Brunellos (the other being Sugarille that is also reviewed here). The bouquet opens to pretty berry nuances, blue flower, lavender, grilled herb and powdery licorice. Despite the more delicate approach, Rennina delivers ample power in the mouth with fresh acidity and tight tannins. I’d suggest opening this bottle at the 10-year mark. Production is 11,000 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina is dark and powerful in the glass, slowly opening with a display of crushed stone, cedar, mint, and a dusting of cumin, as its dark red fruits begin to unfurl in a captivating display. On the palate, silky textures offset tart cherry and blackberry fruits, balanced by a core of rounded tannins and lifting acidity, as hints of licorice and sweet herbal tones develope. The finish is medium in length and poised, showing fine-grain tannins beneath a sheen of polished red and black fruits, with hints of lavender lingering on. The 2015 Rennina is a classy wine that’s just begging for a few years in the cellar to fully blossom.Vinous Media | 95 VMAromatic, evoking wild herb and balsamic notes of juniper, thyme and pine, along with flavors of black cherry, plum and iron. Firmly structured and fresh, offering a long, complex aftertaste. Unfolds pleasantly and maintains balance. Best from 2023 through 2043. 550 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSRennina hails from three of the Gaja estate’s original vineyards acquired in 1994. It is aromatically forward with black cherry fruit, sweet chewing tobacco, and sage. On the palate, it is generous and approachable upfront, with kirsch and vanilla, then follows through with amaro, a grippy structure, and a long finish. It is a detailed wine that will mature with grace, though it is pleasurable in its youth as well. Enjoy 2022-2035.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDShowing the heat of the vintage, this has subdued aromas suggesting mature black-skinned berry marinated in spirits along with whiffs of dried herb, scorched earth, coconut and balsamic whiffs of camphor. The full-bodied palate is rather shy on fruit richness, featuring dried black cherry, French oak, vanilla and licorice alongside the warmth of evident alcohol. Close-grained tannins leave a firm, mouthdrying finish. Give the tannins a few years to unwind then drink sooner rather than later to capture the remaining fruit.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Aromas of rose, red berry and eucalyptus mingle with whiffs of exotic spice on the gorgeous, fragrant red. Loaded with finesse and tension, the elegant, structured palate delivers crushed raspberry, white pepper and star anise set against fresh acidity and taut, lithe tannins. It's already compelling, but hold for even more complexity. Drink 2022–2036.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThis is all about finesse with power. Such great length here with ever so refined tannins and precise strawberry, cedar, dried-rose and mineral character. Medium body. Fresh and vivid finish. Hard not to drink now, but wait until at least 2021.James Suckling | 96 JSI tasted this wine over two sittings, one at the winery and one at my home office a few weeks later. Although I can't claim any extraordinary differences between the two sessions, I noticed a few minimal shifts that are essential to understanding the wine's future aging ability. The 2016 Barbaresco starts off slow at first, showing a small margin of aromatic evolution in the glass. But come back two hours later, and you can almost hear the soft sounds of the symphony playing just below the surface. The 2016 vintage is characterized by the solid intensity and firmness of its aromas, which transcend fruit and veer toward balsamic herb, licorice, tar and smoke instead. The tannins offer a moment of sweetness and softness, before you are aware of their undeniable firmness. In all, there is a certain glossiness or satiny quality to the mouthfeel that underlines the wine's carefully crafted integration. I would describe this as a classic and also a somewhat austere Barbaresco that fully deserves extra cellar time to stretch those tight muscles and grow in volume. This wine will award those who wait.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPGaja's 2016 Barbaresco is positively stellar. A wine of poise and grace, the 2016 has so much to offer. Expressive spice and floral notes open up first, but what really stands out is the wine's nuance and delineation. There is a sense of translucency to the 2016 that is impossible to miss. Sweet red cherry, mint, cinnamon and rose petal develop in the glass, adding further shades of nuance. Quite simply, the 2016 is one of the very finest Gaja Barbarescos in recent memory. This is such a gorgeous wine. Don't miss it.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe Gaja family calls 2016 one of the best vintages they have ever experienced, with a long, slow ripening period without heat stress or disease pressure. That balance comes through in this suave, elegant Barbaresco. It smells of soft rose petals and tastes of juicy cherries and spiced raspberries, the flavors gliding along smooth, ripe tannins. With air, the wine picks up energy and depth, moving into a long, vibrant finish.Wine & Spirits | 96 W&SThis gorgeous red evokes rose, strawberry, raspberry and cherry fruit, shaded by tobacco, tar and wild thyme notes. Pure, sleek and intense, with a firm base of tannins and vibrant acidity for support. This should evolve beautifully. Be patient. Best from 2022 through 2043. 1,800 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2016 Barbaresco showed beautifully, with a classical yet seductive and sweetly fruited style that's going to evolve gracefully. Medium ruby-hued, with a core of sweet red fruits balanced by classic dried flowers, licorice, asphalt, and medicinal herbs, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness that carries impress sweet fruit as well as building tannins. Barbaresco doesn't get more classic, and while it has a sunny, sweetly fruited style, it also has ample underlying tannins and structure, so give bottles 4-5 years. It should deliver the goods for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe nose is poised, displaying very ripe raspberry and black berry aromas. The attack has intensity, partly thanks to its pungent acidity, but there's no rawness and the tannins are ripe. This is taut and structured and needs time. While concentrated, it's not excessively so, and the wine retains its delicacy through the very long finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 93 DEC