Gaja Ca'Marcanda Camarcanda 2017
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
With respect to the previous vintage, the higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Camarcanda leads to a precise and straightforward character. The nose opens with earthy and balsamic notes of violet, roots, bark and sap. The palate is rich, with concentrated and crunchy notes of blackberry, blueberry, licorice, flint and red orange. The finish is savory, almost meaty, with a precise note of iron that lingers in the aftertaste. Fine–grained tannins, embraced by a mellow body of strong personality. The backbone of this wine is the firm structure perfectly balanced by the fruit concentration. Remarkable ageing potential.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Subtle aromas of blackberries, fresh basil and violets follow through to a medium body with poise and focus and extremely polished, fine tannins. Chewy, yet refined. Give this two or three years to come together.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I remember Gaia Gaja's comment to me when I visited Ca' Marcanda in 2017 right after the vintage. She told me that the heat and dry conditions had created "bonsai fruit." Diminutive cluster size due to drought gives the 2017 Bolgheri Rosso Camarcanda extra everything: extra aromatic intensity, concentration, structure and acidity. The winemaking team was careful to remove seeds before fermentation to avoid any greenness or astringency. However, this is a hot-vintage wine, and those aromas of blackberry preserves and baked plum leave no doubt about it. The wine is richly concentrated. In fact, this is probably the last vintage of Camarcanda we will see with this level of density.
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Perched atop a steep hill in the Langhe sits the small village of Barbaresco, home of the GAJA winery. The story of the GAJA Winery can be traced to a singular, founding purpose: to produce original wines with a sense of place which reflect the tradition and culture of those who made it. This philosophy has inspired five generations of impeccable winemaking. It started over 150 years ago when Giovanni Gaja opened a small restaurant in Barbaresco, making wine to complement the food he served. In 1859, he founded the Gaja Winery, producing some of the first wine from Piedmont to be bottled and sold outside the region. Since that time, the winery has been shaped by each generation’s hand, notably that of Clotilde Rey, Angelo Gaja’s grandmother. Her passion for uncompromising quality influenced and informed Angelo Gaja. Through Angelo, these values have become the cornerstone of the GAJA philosophy and are engrained in every aspect of wine production
In 1961, Angelo Gaja began his mission of bringing this great winery to an even higher level. He was the first to use barriques, 225-liter French oak barrels. Under his direction, GAJA pioneered the production of single-vineyard designated wines and was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc varietals in Piedmont. He was also instrumental in elevating the native Nebbiolo grape to world-class esteem.
Angelo Gaja is joined by the fifth generation of the GAJA family – his daughters Gaia and Rossana and his son Giovanni. Together they continue to advance the winery’s legacy. To fully realize their vision, all GAJA wines are produced exclusively from grapes grown in estate-owned vineyards, including 250 acres in Piedmont’s Barbaresco and Barolo districts as well as estates in Pieve Santa Restituta (Montalcino) and Ca’Marcanda (Bolgheri). It is from these storied vineyards, and their terroir – the combination of soil, weather and vines that grow upon them, that GAJA wines reveal their true heart and soul.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.