1974 Gaja Barbaresco
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Tasting notes
Gaia Gaja bought this ancient bottle and a few others back from a Domodossola collector and had been keeping it in her house in the village of Barbaresco. She told us, with a rather mischievous smile, that her father hadn’t yet tasted the wine. She’d kindly chosen to share a bottle with us because she’d noticed I’d mentioned tasting a couple of its predecessors from the 1960s, as reported in this article . ‘It might have some Costa Russi in it’, she said, describing 1974 as a very good vintage with very high acidity. No barriques were used at this point (Gaja started using them in 1978, experimenting with them from 1968). Cloudy rust colour. Sweet, mature, quite animal nose, almost – but not quite – oxidised. Quite a tough palate but lots of evolution and surprisingly rich fruit. Still very much alive – so much more so than any 1974 bordeaux I can think of. (JR)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
'The vintage started with a long, cold and snowy winter, with a spring that arrived later than usual. The dry heat of summer, coupled with a gentle autumn, ensured the grapes achieved full ripeness.' Bottle #141281. Pale tawny with broad orange-tinged rim. Tar, dark malt bread, dried cherry and a hint of truffle and undergrowth. Stays very focused in the glass without losing anything with aeration. Leather and smoked bacon. The palate is still fantastically fresh with the fruit beginning to regress but only a little. Fluid and long and with wall-to-wall fine tannins. (WS)
First impressions are delicate and floral not that forest-floor sweet decay. Even fresher than the 1978. Touch of olive and cherry. Silky, fruity and delicate cherry sweetness. So delicate and gentle and a mouthwateringly fresh, harmonious finish. So youthful. (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.