2020 Gaja Alteni di Brassica
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Tasting notes
Recently, I had the lucky opportunity to taste back vintages of this wine at various dinners and masterclasses, and it blew me away each time. The Gaja family is using this bottle as a banner of sorts to show the aging potential of their white wines in advance of a secretive new project to soon add more whites to the family portfolio. The 2020 Langhe Alteni di Brassica shows tropical tones and sweet peach. It feels large and generous to the palate. Pretty mineral tones, even a hint of white pepper, add focus. The wine is not all nerves; there is creamy richness here. Winemaking sees 85% stainless steel, and a smaller part goes into tonneaux. It rests on the fine lees for 18 months with no malolactic fermentation. You'd do well to give this wine some time in your cellar.
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2020 Alteni di Brassica is bright, crisp and wonderfully aromatic. Orchard fruit, lime, mint, white flowers and white pepper give this taut, nervy Sauvignon tons of character as well as complexity. All the elements are very nicely balanced. This is a terrific example of the Gaja house style today.
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented in tank and aged in big old oak. Leafy, capsicum aroma rather than NZ-stereotype ripe fruits. Excellent texture, chalky, dry and with a long minerally, almost salty finish. Lots of dry tension in the flavour and the texture. Very good but very expensive! (JH)
About the producer
Gaja has been at the forefront of the Piedmont wine scene for many years and is Barbaresco’s most decorated producer. The winery has received a record number of Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards – the highest accolade from Italy’s leading wine publication.