The Gaja 2021 Langhe Gaia & Rey is a blend of Chardonnay from five hectares planted in 1979 in Treiso and five hectares in Serralunga d'Alba planted in 1989. However, the Gaja family plans to add fruit from their new property in Alta Langa to "bring out the high tones," Giovanni Gaja explains. They are waiting for the vines to get older. This wine is currently in a timid phase, although it is quite explosive in terms of mouthfeel, with bright notes of peach, citrus, and hints of crushed stone. They worked hard to achieve the creaminess of the mouthfeel and have gradually moved toward 60% botte grande and 40% smaller oak vessels (with ageing from 12 to 18 months).
Gaia & Rey is a beautifully pure Piemontese expression of Chardonnay. It opens to a light gold/straw color with brilliant luminosity. This vintage is delicate but determined, powerful but fragile all at the same time. The bouquet is shy to start off and requires (at this young stage when I tasted the wine) ample time to aerate. Once it unwinds, the wine offers fresh citrus, orchard fruit, toasted almond and spice. Only partial malolactic fermentation is completed, so the wine's energy and inner nerve is very much intact. Flint and mineral play important supporting roles
Gaia & Rey is a beautifully pure Piemontese expression of Chardonnay. It opens to a light gold/straw color with brilliant luminosity. This vintage is delicate but determined, powerful but fragile all at the same time. The bouquet is shy to start off and requires (at this young stage when I tasted the wine) ample time to aerate. Once it unwinds, the wine offers fresh citrus, orchard fruit, toasted almond and spice. Only partial malolactic fermentation is completed, so the wine's energy and inner nerve is very much intact. Flint and mineral play important supporting roles
The Gaja 2018 Langhe Gaia & Rey is a beautifully pure Piemontese expression of Chardonnay. It opens to a light gold/straw color with brilliant luminosity. This vintage is delicate but determined, powerful but fragile all at the same time. The bouquet is shy to start off and requires (at this young stage when I tasted the wine) ample time to aerate. Once it unwinds, the wine offers fresh citrus, orchard fruit, toasted almond and spice. Only partial malolactic fermentation is completed, so the wine's energy and inner nerve is very much intact. Flint and mineral play important supporting roles.
This wine was first made in 1983, and back then, no malolactic fermentation occurred. Jump forward in time to the 2017 Langhe Gaia & Rey, and this is another vintage in which malo did not start. (Partial malolactic returns in 2018). Since those first years of production, the oak usage has also been tweaked, now with less barrique in favor of more botte grande. Thanks to these changes, the aromatic profile of this wine veers toward citrus and rich tropical fruit, especially in a warm vintage such as this. However counterintuitive, this edition also shows a very bright and precise touch of acidity that serves to give the wine balanced and mouth-cleansing salinity.
Gaja is an Italian winery located in the Piedmont region of Italy. Founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja, the winery has been producing some of the finest wines in the region for over 150 years. Gaja is best known for its Barolo and Barbaresco wines, but they also produce a range of other wines, including Chardonnay. Gaja's Chardonnay is produced from grapes grown in the Langhe hills of Piedmont. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented in stainless steel tanks, before being aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. The resulting wine is full-bodied and complex, with aromas of ripe stone fruit, citrus, and a hint of oak. On the palate, the wine is rich and creamy, with flavors of ripe apples, pears, and a hint of spice. Gaja's Chardonnay is a great example of the quality and complexity that can be achieved with this variety.
Gaia & Rey is a family-run winery located in the Veneto region of Italy. Founded in the late 19th century, the winery has been producing some of the finest wines in the region for over a century. Gaia & Rey is best known for its Amarone and Valpolicella wines, but they also produce a range of other wines, including Chardonnay. Gaia & Rey's Chardonnay is produced from grapes grown in the hills of Valpolicella. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented in stainless steel tanks, before being aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. The resulting wine is full-bodied and complex, with aromas of ripe stone fruit, citrus, and a hint of oak. On the palate, the wine is rich and creamy, with flavors of ripe apples, pears, and a hint of spice. Gaia & Rey's Chardonnay is a great example of the quality and complexity that can be achieved with this variety.
From a hot vintage, the 2015 Langhe Gaia & Rey shows similar excellence as presented in the 2013 vintage, although its attributes are different. That wine was direct and linear reflecting the cooler summer months. This wine, however, promises to be more tonic, sharp and focused despite the warmer growing season. This pure expression of Chardonnay is made in a more reductive style in order to highlight that nervous and bright vein at the back. The winery is switching over to older barrique (some as old as a decade) and botte grande to allow for less oxygen in winemaking. The wine opens to aromas of Golden Delicious apple, white peach, wild sage, ginger and honey. This white wine shows enormous potential for further aromatic development and intensity.
Fresh, compelling and showing impressive definition, the Langhe Gaia & Rey is a beautiful creation and a wine that occupies a school of its own, especially considering its context that is so focused on great red wine production.
There are creeping similarities that are fun to note. Specifically, I am referring to the mouthfeel of this wine that shows sophistication, richness, and a creamy texture. It could drink well with structured foods, pork, or spicy beef tartare. The bouquet is plentiful and rich with passion fruit, melon, apricot, and toasted almond.
The wine is exuberant and generous. Given that I tasted a beautifully preserved 1996 vintage of Gaia & Rey at the same time, I feel confident in suggesting a very long drinking window.
Gaia & Rey is a beautifully pure Piemontese expression of Chardonnay. It opens to a light gold/straw color with brilliant luminosity. This vintage is delicate but determined, powerful but fragile all at the same time. The bouquet is shy to start off and requires (at this young stage when I tasted the wine) ample time to aerate. Once it unwinds, the wine offers fresh citrus, orchard fruit, toasted almond and spice. Only partial malolactic fermentation is completed, so the wine's energy and inner nerve is very much intact. Flint and mineral play important supporting roles
Gaia & Rey is a beautifully pure Piemontese expression of Chardonnay. It opens to a light gold/straw color with brilliant luminosity. This vintage is delicate but determined, powerful but fragile all at the same time. The bouquet is shy to start off and requires (at this young stage when I tasted the wine) ample time to aerate. Once it unwinds, the wine offers fresh citrus, orchard fruit, toasted almond and spice. Only partial malolactic fermentation is completed, so the wine's energy and inner nerve are very much intact. Flint and mineral play important supporting roles
