Gaja - Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo 2021 (750ml)
Jeb Dunnuck: 100 Points
Presenting a more youthful appearance the 2021 Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo is a complete wine already with ripe expressive fruit as well as notes of ripe cherry liqueur and pressed flowers. While the oak is going to need time to come together the wine simultaneously displays broad tannins power weightlessness and an intense mineral drive. It evolves rapidly in the glass developing notes of pure cinnamon and continues to reveal more layers over time. The Gaja estate was founded in 1859 although it was Angelo Gaja the fourth-generation winemaker of this Barbaresco estate who made the innovations that would help shape the region as it is today. The entire family shares responsibilities across their estates. Great attention is paid to their practice of sustainable and regenerative farming. The latest major development for the estate in Piedmont is a brand new winery exclusively dedicated to their still white wine production in Alta Langa 16 kilometers away from the original estate. It was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Bo who the family have worked with since 1982. The vineyards of Gaia & Rey and Brassica will remain the same but fermentation and production have moved to this location which was completed in time for the 2023 harvest. There is greater biodiversity in Alta Langa compared to Barolo and Barbaresco with 60% of the land being undeveloped land and hazelnut farms and only 40% vineyards compared to Barbaresco which has 80% of the land under vine. For this reason as well as the higher elevations this area is seeing an influx of attention across the region. In 2015 the family purchased 30 hectares of land that had been planted to hazelnut trees at an average elevation of 650 meters which they have converted to vineyard and indigenous plants of the area. Cascina Langa the historical name for the property has soils that are rich in sand and tuff which they believe will be well-suited for adding structure for the white varietals of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. They also planted several other experimental vines to learn what will work well in the region.
James Suckling: 99 Points
A rather exotic and wild Sori San Lorenzo. Even flamboyant. Dried flowers and spices with bark mushroom and dried dark cherry. Perfumed and primary with earth. Full-bodied and juicy with such fine velvety tannins that are layered and superb. So classic and soft on the palate with great length. Give this four to five years but a classic in the making. Try after 2029.
Wine Spectator: 98 Points
This rich juicy version is packed with ripe cherry raspberry rose graphite and menthol aromas and flavors. The lush supple texture is offset by a dense line of chalky tannins that build on the finish. Showing superb balance and length this teases you with its up-front fruit before tightening up a foreshadowing of its potential. Best from 2027 through 2050. 125 cases imported.
Vinous: 98 Points
The 2021 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is a dark brooding beauty. In most vintages Sorì San Lorenzo is more demonstrative but the 2021 is not in the mood to show all its cards. Black cherry plum graphite menthol and spice emerge with some reticence. Readers will have to be patient with this embryonic Barbaresco. Sadly production is down by about 30% because of frost. - By Antonio Galloni on September 2024 These new releases from the Gaja family are impressive. Generational succession is the single greatest threat to the long-term survival of family-owned wineries in Italy. Although there have naturally been some bumps in the road the Gajas have navigated this tricky phase exceptionally well. That takes an older generation that can let go and a younger generation that is capable of taking over neither of which is by any means a foregone conclusion. Today?s wines are increasingly marked by grace and understatement along with the strong expression of site that has always been a calling card for the vineyard designate Barbarescos and Barolos. The 2021 Barbarescos lead the way this year. Sorì Tildin and Sorì San Lorenzo are especially fine. It was not an easy vintage. Frost and cold weather during flowering lowered yields in some spots. Even so the wines are pretty special. These days the Barbarescos and Barolos see 45-60 days on the skins. Aging takes place first in French oak barrels and then cask. There?s a bit more French oak influence in Sperrs much less so in the other wines.
