2003 BARBARESCO, Gaja. Piedmont, Italy

A hot vintage, famously, but see Galloni’s acute summary of the wine in the press review below.

Crazily expensive but we have sourced a single whole case, not previously sold (and so in perfect condition), from this revered estate and at a state of near perfect maturity.

LIMITED SUPPLY – CHECK WITH SHOP BEFORE ORDERING.

“Gaja’s 2003 Barbaresco may well challenge its bigger siblings as the most successful of these new releases. Made in a style that combines expressive aromatics, the ripeness of the vintage and classic structure, it is an awesome effort. Though it offers plenty of super-ripe fruit and notable concentration, it never comes across as being heavy and displays exceptional overall balance. Gaja’s Barbaresco rarely shows this well so early in the game and my guess is that my score may end up being conservative. ‘Oddly enough it was our worst-exposed parcels that performed best in 2003, although I suppose that makes sense given that these plots were more protected from the sun. We did a very severe selection in the cellar and in 2003 we bottled a small amount of Barbaresco, roughly 30,000 bottles as compared to our normal amount of 70,000 bottles. We did a similarly stringent selection with our single-vineyard wines,’ adds Gaja” – Galloni, The Wine Advocate