A very disappointing Gaja Sperss 1996

[TomHill]

Haven’t had a Gaja in yrs because of the $$$'s. But when I tried them back in the '70’s-'80’s,
I was in awe of them. Because of their intensity & extraction, you just knew they were going
to develop into something great w/ age. But, like the Alban & SQN, they never seemed to develop
that complexity you like in an aged wine.
Tom

[Ron_Slye]

@Daniel Moritz

I’ll be a bit of a counter point here. I think Gaja wines can be fascinating. First off, I’m a traditional Nebbiolo lover. Then specific to the 96 Sperss - I think its a great wine but its by no means ready. I peaked in on this one not long ago. But its like many other 96s, its a really structured tannic vintage that is years away from strutting its stuff. On the otherhand, the 97 Sperss is a wine that will provide insane amounts of pleasure right now. I’d drink that all day long! Gaja’s best wines are really ageworthy. In fact, I would put the 1971 Sori San Lorenzo and Sori Tildin amongst my all time top 10 Nebbiolo wines. Certainly my favorite Gaja wines of all time. The 78s are phenomenal (though I’ve found some cork inconsistencies). The 89s are fantastic as well. The wines from the 60s will make any traditional Nebb junkie swoon and have held up really well.

Have you tried the 1990 Sperss? I have two of those and not sure whether I should drink them sooner or later.

[R_Frankel]

I guess I’m more with Daniel and Rich in this. Older Gajas’s have been WOTY class experiences for me - eg ‘78 and ‘82 Barbaresco normale in the last year. I’ve had the ‘90 Sperss as well, found it super classic Nebbiolo at the youthful end of secondary development. And wonderful.

My general preference is fairly traditional (Giacosa is my biggest holding) but I like a diversity of well made wines. I wonder if the ‘96 is just too young (I haven’t had it). Or perhaps this is just one of those subjective things?

[R_Nanda]

@TomHill

Haven’t had a Gaja in yrs because of the $$$'s. But when I tried them back in the '70’s-'80’s,
I was in awe of them. Because of their intensity & extraction, you just knew they were going
to develop into something great w/ age. But, like the Alban & SQN, they never seemed to develop
that complexity you like in an aged wine.
Tom

To my palate, Gaja from the 70s/80s have developed into gorgeous, complex wines. Your observation that those 70s/80s wines tasted rich/extracted upon release or shortly thereafter makes me feel better about the 90s/00s likely coming around in another 30 years.