1999 Darmagi

Angelo Gaja's 1999s have turned out brilliantly. Gaja chose to show all of these wines from magnum, which might help explain why the wines are so strong. At the same time, a recent bottle of the Sorì San Lorenzo was incredibly impressive. In any event, 1999 is an above average vintage at Gaja. I don't see the wines as super long-term agers, so readers should not be planning on extended cellaring for any of these wines.

Angelo Gaja produced a very strong series of wines in 1999. While they may not have the flashiness or early appeal of vintages such as 1997 and 2000, the 1999s show much complexity and structure. I spent over two hours with these wines at the estate and during that time the wines continued to open, gradually revealing their multiple layers of aromas and flavors. I also noted more of a qualitative difference between the Barbaresco and the Langhe wines from Barbaresco than was the case in vintages 2000 and 2001. Speaking of his 1999s Gaja says “There is no question the vintage was overlooked. To put things in perspective though, remember that we used to have one or two great vintages a decade. Vintages 1988, 1989 and 1990 were the first time we had ever seen three important vintages back-to-back, even if 1988 was not quite at the same level as the following two vintages. I suppose it was no surprise that the press, especially the local Italian press, was especially skeptical when we producers claimed to have yet another great vintage on our hands in 1999 following the excellent 1996, 1997 and 1998 vintages. However, it is a classic vintage in which I believe very much. Like my 1996s, the only thing these wines need is additional bottle age.”

As always, the house style is very much present in the wines. Beginning in 1996 the Langhe wines contain a small amount of Barbera (between 5-8%) which Gaja says is added to give the wines additional acidity. Vinification remains fairly traditional by today's standards. Fermentation and maceration last about three weeks. For the Barbaresco the fermentation takes place at a temperature of roughly 82 ̊F (28 ̊C). Gaja uses a slightly different approach for his ‘crus' Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi, Conteisa, and Sperss, for which the temperature during fermentation is lowered to 64 ̊F (18 ̊C) after the first week. All of the wines undergo malolactic fermentation in barrique. The wines then age one year in barrique and a second year in cask. For his Darmagi Gaja employs a shorter fermentation lasting 10-15 days. The wine sees 6-8 months in barrique followed by one year in large oak casks.

Gaja is the only Piedmont producer who attempted to articulate something I've felt in recent years about today's Barolos and Barbarescos. "We've been blessed by seven unusual vintages - unusual in the sense that they were consecutive. But there are also new tastes in our wines that we've never seen, a new complexity, maybe more texture. Perhaps it's partly due to the different angle of the sun during the growing season, which over the recent period has been starting a good 20 days earlier." The 2000 harvest was the earliest since 1997, Gaja went on. "In 2000 we are in a position to repeat the success of 1997; the wines are nearly as opulent and have slightly lower acidity. In '99, we did a severe green harvest, but rain in September expanded the grapes and increased the quantity of juice by 20%. These will be beautifully drinkable wines, perfect in restaurants but also with freshness and sound acidity for aging."Gaja's top nebbiolo crus are now bottled with only their proprietary names rather than being identified as Barbaresco or Barolo. The Conteisa features about 8% barbera, while his other crus generally include 5% or 6%. "The addition of some barbera is just a correction for acidity," noted Gaja. It brings no other obvious character. The wines are still very nebbiolo."

Angelo Gaja spent a half hour explaining his controversial decision to bottle his Barbaresco (and Barolo) crus by their proprietary names rather than using the appellation. The history behind his decision dates back to the late 1960s, he began. Ever since Giacosa and Ratti and Prunotto began producing vineyard-designated wines (influenced by the wine writer Luigi Veronelli, who in turn was inspired by the French concept of individual site character at lower yield), hundreds of ex-grape growers in Barbaresco and Barolo have become producers. Over time, all have created their own pyramids of quality and prices. "The consumer has come to believe that the single-vineyard wines of each estate represented its highest quality, and began to devalue 'ordinary' or 'regular' Barbaresco," explained Gaja. "In a Catholic-Communist country like Italy, we have a culture of suspicion," Gaja theorized, "and now when people hear the word Barbaresco, they always associate it with 'straight' or 'ordinary' Barbaresco. But my three single-vineyard Barbarescos are niche wines; together they represent just 25% of my Barbaresco production. Now I will have only one wine labelled Barbaresco," said Gaja, adding that this wine will grow more rapidly in price in the future than the crus. "Now it will be the Barbaresco of Gaja, not Gaja straight Barbaresco." x000D x000D But what about Barolo, I asked Gaja: Surely the name Barolo hasn't been devalued in the same way-"and you don't offer a 'basic' Barolo anyway." "I couldn't handle my Barolo crus any differently," he replied.x000D x000D Gaja says he never wanted to use the vino da tavola appellation. "That was a Tuscan concept, and in any event I don't think we can make a better wine in the Piedmont than Barbaresco or Barolo." The Langhe appellation was introduced with the '93 vintage, and thus Gaja made the commercial decision to label his wines with their brand names (as opposed to a geographic name) and the generic designation Langhe Nebbiolo. But he waited until the '96, '97 and '98 vintages to make the step official on his labels, since the high quality of these vintages would make it apparent to his customers that he was not declassifying his wines.x000D x000D Using the Langhe Nebbiolo appellation also offers Gaja the flexibility to include up to 15% of other red varieties, whereas wine labelled Barbaresco or Barolo must be 100% nebbiolo. Although Gaja was reportedly the leader of a group of winemakers who failed to convince the authorities to allow the use of a small percentage of other grape varieties in Barbaresco, he told me he has no immediate plans to use other varieties, although he does have barbera planted in several of his cru vineyards. Two to five percent of barbera could be used, for example, to lift the acidity of a wine, says Gaja. "There's a belief here that cabernet can make everything better, even coffee," Gaja told me, but then added that he would be more likely to use indigenous red varieties than international ones like cabernet or merlot.x000D x000D Gaja describes the '96s as rigorous wines that are not immediately approachable, while the '97s are dense, rich and relatively easy to drink. The '98s may not be as dense as '97 or rigorous as '96, but the vintage combines the characteristics of the two earlier years and is at the same lofty quality level, he adds. Nineteen ninety-nine, says Gaja, yielded a large crop and varying quality: "Some wines will be very concentrated, but 75% will be characterized more by their elegance." Yields in Gaja's crus are always among the lowest in the region: around 30 hectoliters per hectare in '96 and '98, and between 25 and 30 in '97.