2005 Barbaresco Costa Russi

Angelo Gaja is never at a loss for words, except for when it comes to his wines. Then again, what does Gaja need to say? Nothing. These wines speak volumes. Gaja's 2005s are among the highlights of what has turned out to be a mixed vintage in Barbaresco. Today, the Gaja winery is increasingly run by Gaja's daughters Gaia and Rossana. These wines are very much in the mold of the Barbarescos longtime winemaker Guido Rivella made during his long and distinguished career at Gaja.

x000D According to Gaja, global warming has been beneficial for the wines of Barbaresco. "Before 1996 there was a big gap in quality between Barolo and Barbaresco," he told me. "Barolo was routinely a degree higher in alcohol-say 12.5% vs. 11.5%, or 13% vs. 12%. But today Barbaresco is commonly 13.5%, or even higher. In fact, now consumers are asking for wines with lower alcohol. But it's wrong to blame the grower for this; it's the climate." Interestingly, Gaja does not find a significant difference between the 2007 and 2006 vintages for his big nebbiolo wines, although he described the 2006s as "more Piemontese." The 2007 single-vineyard wines will be at their best 8 to 15 years after the vintage, says Gaja. "I'm not a great fan of very old wines, even Burgundy or Bordeaux," he told me. "I find Burgundy between 8 and 12 years old and Bordeaux between 9 and 15 to be at their most expressive stage for matching with food." Gaja notes that 2005 was much better for Barbaresco than for Barolo, as much of the harvest in Barbaresco was finished before the last damaging rains in early October, including all of his own nebbiolo from Barbaresco. Gaja continues to include about 5% barbera in his cru bottlings from Barbaresco, and a bit more in his Sperss (6%) and Conteisa (8%).

I was blown away by Angelo Gaja's 2005 wines from Barbaresco. When all is said and done, Gaja may have well produced not the wine, but rather the wines of the vintage in a year that was excellent but not profound. While Gaja's 2005 don't have the explosive, multi-dimensional personalities of his 2004s, they are vibrant offerings that will thrill readers who Piedmont wines. As always, Gaja blends in a small percentage of Barbera in his single-vineyard wines, but that is hardly noticeable in this vintage. I also noted less new oak than has generally been the case in the recent past. The wines showcase very pure expressions of Nebbiolo and are made in a style that appears to make fewer concessions to the decidedly international approach of previous vintages. In short, these are the most Piedmontese wines I have tasted from Angelo Gaja in a long time. Could it be that the greatest innovator in Piedmont over the last thirty five-plus years has taken a small step towards a more classic style?

"Elegance whispers and opulence shouts," said Angelo Gaja, trying to describe the difference between Barbaresco and Barolo. "Opulence is easy to perceive, but the elegant character of Barbaresco is much more difficult to describe. " Gaja described 2004 as "a big crop, and especially large for growers who did not do a green harvest. " The 2005 harvest brought a much lower crop level, and Gaja picked all of his Barbaresco nebbiolo prior to the early October rains. (This fact was confirmed by some of his neighbors who were caught with a portion of their fruit hanging. ) IWC readers with long memories will recall that Gaja told me a few years back that he doubted he would make his cru bottlings from the hot 2003 harvest. In the end, he did offer these wines, but in very limited quantities. "We essentially conducted three harvests in 2003 [beginning on September 12th in Barbaresco], and we eventually kept just 38% to 45% of the fruit, depending on the site. " As always, my mini-marathon at Gaja went by too quickly, as I tasted a number of sensational bottlings. Production here has been a stable 350,000 bottles in recent years. Incidentally, in the '03, '04 and '05 vintages, Gaja added about 5% barbera to his crus from the Barbaresco area, with the Sperss getting 6% barbera and the Conteisa 8%.