2011 Gaja - Barbaresco - 1 Bottiglia (0,75 litri)

Crushed flowers, tobacco, sweet spices and red berries lift from the glass in the 2011 Barbaresco. Soft silky and accessible, the Barbaresco is already wonderfully open and expressive, as so many wines are in this vintage. Kirsch, hard candy and floral notes add nuance over time. The style is mid-weight and gracious, with gorgeous aromatic complexity and plenty of brightness, especially within the context of the year.

Gaja's 2011s are great lessons in terroir. The Barbaresco shows the wisdom of being able to blend fruit across multiple sites, the Costa Russi is pliant but not quite profound, while the Sorì Tildìn and Sorì San Lorenzo ooze with the personality that only the world's greatest sites