2007 Gaja Langhe Sperss

Good medium-deep red. Classic Barolo aromas of strawberry, underbrush, tar and brown spices. Incredibly rich, plush and smooth, showcasing the sweetness of the year in spades. This remarkably round, thick wine envelops the entire palate but has enough acidity to avoid coming off as heavy. The great, slowly building finish features utterly harmonious ripe tannins and terrific breadth and grip.

The 2007 Langhe Sperss is beyond impeccable in the way it combines a powerful expression of Serralunga fruit in a round, enveloping style. Make no mistake about it, there is plenty of intensity and muscle here, but in 2007 Sperss is exceptionally harmonious from the start. The fruit is decidedly darker than the red-toned Conteisa, while an array of licorice, smoke and iron – all typical of Serralunga – add further gravitas. Even as the tannins build on the close, here, too, the finish is utterly sublime. The 2007 Sperss will test readers’ patience but it is simply magnificent even today. Readers who can wait will be rewarded with a breathtaking bottle of wine.

The 2007 Langhe Sperss is beyond impeccable in the way it combines a powerful expression of Serralunga fruit in a round, enveloping style. Make no mistake about it, there is plenty of intensity and muscle here, but in 2007 Sperss is exceptionally harmonious from the start. The fruit is decidedly darker than the red-toned Conteisa, while an array of licorice, smoke and iron – all typical of Serralunga – add further gravitas. Even as the tannins build on the close, here, too, the finish is utterly sublime. The 2007 Sperss will test readers’ patience but it is simply magnificent even today. Readers who can wait will be rewarded with a breathtaking bottle of wine. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2047. My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604 8900