1988 Gaja Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo

‘We were the first to use the word Sorí’, Angelo pointed out about his first foray into these single vineyard Barbarescos to which Sorí Tildin and Costa Russi were subsequently added. Giovanni had already identified this site as especially promising because of a vein of sand that helped it dry out particularly effectively after rain. The consistency and ageability of its wines have indeed been remarkable. Orange rim on a very transparent rusty ruby. Very fine, transparent flavours in fact. Bone dry and obviously at its peak with marvellous raciness and still marked acidity. Great finesse. (JR)

From The Purple Notebook – Italian Dinner at Gidleigh Park Fuller, more intense. Very, very deep and burly and autumnal. BIG! Rich right through to its core. After an hour in the glass it gained considerably in complexity. I don’t have a note of when it was decanted, I’m afraid, but wine service at Gidleigh was always intelligent. (JR)

Among the three single vineyard Barbarescos, the most aromatic and complex is the 1988 Sori San Lorenzo. This intense wine offers up a bouquet of spices, vanillin, herbs, cedar, and red and black fruits. While perfumed, the tannins once again dominate. There is freshness, full body, and plenty of length. Despite the precocious bouquet, this wine will not be at its best for 5-6 years; it should keep for 20 years. All of Gaja's 1988 Barbarescos are backward, reserved wines. Even after sitting four days with the corks pulled they exhibited no signs of oxidation. While they should be uncommonly long-lived, I did not see quite the flesh and richness possessed by such vintages as 1985 and 1982. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY.