Grape:  Nebbiolo

Tasting Notes:  Red fruit, Tobacco, Vanilla, Spice

It started over 150 years ago when Giovanni Gaja opened a small restaurant in Barbaresco, making wine to complement the food he served. In 1859, he founded the Gaja Winery, producing some of the first wine from Piedmont to be bottled and sold outside the region. In 1961, 4th generation Angelo Gaja began his mission of bringing this great winery to an even higher level. He was also instrumental in elevating the native Nebbiolo grape to world-class esteem. Angelo Gaja is joined by the fifth generation of the GAJA family – his daughters Gaia and Rossana and his son Giovanni.

From the solid 2012 vintage this Gaja Barbaresco has garnered strong ratings from all critics; In 2012, Gaja didn’t bottle his single-vineyard crus because they didn’t reach his high quality standards, and many of the grapes from these celebrated vineyards finished in this elegant, firmly structured wine. It's full bodied with good depth, fine, silk-like tannins and good acidity. The austere palate offers cherry, raspberry, cranberry, oak, vanilla, white pepper, anise, spice, and tobacco flavors leading into a long, complex finish. A lovely pairing for pasta with black truffles.