Product Review
Gaja’s 2003 Sperss is made from vineyards in Serralunga and offers better balance than the Conteisa. It is plump and juicy, with a generous core of dark fruit, tar and menthol supported by a massive, imposing structure. The wine offers notable length although there is a suggestion of heat on the finish. This powerful, brooding Sperss will require patience, even if today it gives the illusion of being a relatively accessible vintage for this wine. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2023.
Angelo Gaja and long-time oenologist Guido Rivella produced some of the most monumental wines of their long, storied partnership in 2004. Although I admire Gaja’s wines, especially for their consistency, I rarely find them this emotionally moving and utterly profound. The stable weather and cool, tempering evenings towards the end of the growing season allowed Gaja and Rivella to harvest fairly late in 2004. I remember passing by Gaja’s Barbaresco vineyards in October of that year and seeing fruit still waiting to be picked long a
Includes red wines where there is either no predominant variety or the blend is proprietary.
Along with Tuscany, Piedmont is responsible for most of Italy’s greatest wines. Here, Nebbiolo is the king of grapes with the DOCGs of Barolo and Barbaresco supplying a significant amount of the finest examples. Less expensive, but good value Nebbiolos are made within the larger Langhe DOC which Barolo and Barbaresco are both situated in. Barbera and Dolcetto are the region's other important red grapes. Moscato (Muscat) is the most popular white grape, most of which gets used in making Spumante and Frizzante (semi-sparkling) wines, notably those made in and around the town of Asti. Meanwhile, the region's most popular still white wines are made from Cortese and Arneis. Cortese are mostly made in the province of Alessandria and go by the name Gavi, while Arneis is mainly cultivated in Roero, just north west of Alba.
Red wine is wine made from dark-coloured grape varieties. The color of red differs based on the grapes variety or varieties used.Interestingly, black grapes yield a juice that is greenish-white. The actual red color comes from anthocyan pigments (also called anthocyanins) from the skin of the grape (exceptions are the relatively uncommon teinturier varieties, which produce a red colored juice). Most of the production centers around the extraction of color and flavor from the grape skin.
