2020 Gaja “Conteisa” Barolo

The Gaja name is synonymous with the modernization and global fame of Italian wine. Angelo Gaja revolutionized Barbaresco in the 1960s and 70s: green harvesting, small French barriques, temperature-controlled fermentation, and international varieties in the heart of Nebbiolo country. When his father Giovanni saw Cabernet Sauvignon going into a prime Barbaresco vineyard, he muttered “Darmagi” — Piedmontese for “what a shame” — and the name stuck to the wine. The single vineyards spent years labelled as Langhe Nebbiolo before returning to the Barbaresco DOCG.

In Barbaresco the three crus define the house. Costa Russi, at the bottom of the hill, is the floral charmer; Sorì Tildìn is the balance point, with the body of Costa Russi and the tannic frame of San Lorenzo; Sorì San Lorenzo, closest to the river and the warmest site, is the powerhouse. In Barolo, Sperss from Serralunga d’Alba is dark and full of tar and roses, Conteisa from Cerequio in La Morra is its ethereal opposite, and Dagromis blends the two communes for earlier drinking. The whites — Gaia & Rey Chardonnay, Alteni di Brassica, Rossj Bass — are as serious as the reds.

The family’s Tuscan chapter began with Pieve Santa Restituta in Montalcino, whose Sugarille vineyard sits on south-facing galestro, and Ca’ Marcanda in Bolgheri, bought in 1996. Its name means “house of endless negotiations” in Piedmontese, after the two years it took to secure the property. The range runs from Vistamare and Promis to Magari and the Bolgheri flagship, built on the area’s terre brune and terre bianche soils. Today Gaia Gaja is part of the team: in the torrid 2022 vintage they cut production by nearly half to keep the wines’ signature silkiness.