2000 Gaja Langhe Conteisa

The 2000 Conteisa is one of the most positive surprises in this tasting. The wine is positively explosive, with marvelous balance and richness in its generous, radiant fruit. The 2000 is a terrific Conteisa.

Good deep red. Redcurrant, plum, tobacco and smoky oak on the nose. Lush, broad, ripe and quite dry; backward today and not currently showing the complexity or depth of the Sperss. Brooding flavors of licorice and menthol suggest that this wine also needs a minimum of six or seven years of additional aging. The firm tannins reach the incisors.

Ruby-red, not as dark as the Sori San Lorenzo. Powerful, slightly medicinal aromas of black cherry and dark chocolate. Sweet and strong in the mouth, with flavors of black cherry, marzipan, tar, flowers and chocolate truffle. Currently rather dominated by its strong tannic spine and lively acids, but this will make a very elegant drink by the end of the decade.