Gaja Sori San Lorenzo 2017
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo is deep purple in appearance. The nose introduces itself as a fruit basket loaded with black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and wild strawberries showing aromas that are beautifully harmonious, with freshness provided by mint and licorice notes. The palate displays hints of sweet tobacco, loamy earth and minerals line the finish, giving this wine fascinating range and length. Initially forceful, the tannins become ripe and velvety. This wine has magisterial persistence and definition.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
The aromas of fresh rose petals are amazing with strawberries and citrus underneath. Full-bodied and layered with a complete, very linear and long finish. It turns tight and very serious at the end. Please give this at least five years to show it’s potential.
-
Wine Spectator
This tightly wound red is dense with black cherry, black currant, plum, tar and iron flavors as well as tannins. Shows a lot of power and persistence, with all the components in the right proportion, ending with a long, resonant aftertaste. Needs time. Best from 2024 through 2048.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 growing season saw a couple of violent hail events in the Barbaresco appellation, and this celebrated vineyard suffered some damage during a storm that hit on July 19th. Yields were reduced, but the wine holds its own thanks to the careful fruit selection process put in place by the Gaja family. Their 2017 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is a shade richer in terms of flavor concentration, as is always the case with fruit from this slightly warmer growing site. However, like the other two single-vineyard Barbaresco expressions, this wine reveals a thin, sharp and nervous personality that is driven in large part by tannic firmness and acidity. Sorì San Lorenzo adds lots of dark mineral definition to cassis, wild cherry, rose and Provence herbs.
Rating: 95+
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
-
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
International
Wine Cellar -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
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.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.