2017 Sauvignon Alteni di Brassica
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Tasting notes
Gaja's 2017 Alteni di Brassica (Sauvignon) is bright, crisp and also wonderfully nuanced, with lovely textural depth that gives the wine its classy personality. Green orchard fruit, mint, sage and white flowers all grace an expressive Sauvignon that is varietally expressive, without veering either into the realm of the vegetal or the excessively rich. In other words, it is a wine with terrific balance and plenty of class.
Critic scores
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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First released in 1983 (as was the Gaia & Ray Chardonnay), the 2017 Langhe Alteni di Brassica is a mineral-driven, bright, and juicy expression of Sauvignon Blanc that offers terrific notes of crushed citrus, green herbs, lime, and subtle hints of tart pineapple. With bright acidity, medium body, and terrific balance, it’s an incredibly classy Sauvignon Blanc that’s terrific today, yet I suspect will age gracefully for at least 5-7 years if you’re so inclined.
The 2017 Langhe Alteni di Brassica (a pure expression of Sauvignon Blanc) offers tonic freshness, zesty citrus, white peach and crushed oyster shell. The harvest came early in this hot growing season with the grapes coming off the vines as early as August 17th. That early picking date served to keep the aromas fresh and the fruit crunchy. Gaia Gaja tells me that the fruit was super concentrated in this vintage, and the clusters were so small she called them "bonsai grapes." In addition to the concentrated aromas, the wine also shows a level of freshness that comes as a very pleasant surprise. Evidently, the acidity was also concentrated into those tiny berries.
About the producer
Gaja has been at the forefront of the Piedmont wine scene for many years and is Barbaresco’s most decorated producer. The winery has received a record number of Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards – the highest accolade from Italy’s leading wine publication.