"Darmagi."

Which means "Shame" or "What a pity" in the local Piedmontese dialect, and is also what fourth-generation Angelo Gaja's father, Giovanni, exclaimed in despair when he had learnt that his son had uprooted traditional grape varieties in the family's Barbaresco vineyards to instead plant international varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Yet, today it is inarguable the sheer impact that Angelo has had not just on the Gaja family's winery, but really on the famed Italian region of Barbaresco as a whole - some might even call that conservative, extending the reach of the fourth-generation Gaja's impact to the whole of modern Italian winemaking. 

An Awakening Of Angelo Gaja

Angelo Gaja is often credited with bringing modernity to what was otherwise a staunchly traditionalist winemaking region in the north of Italy. The winemakers of Barolo and Barbaresco, often called the King and Queen of Italian wine, are a deeply convicted and proud bunch, who've stuck by their centuries old customs and practices of winemaking to a fault - local varieties (most famously Nebbiolo), sourced from across the appellation and blended together, long maceration, extensive ageing in large wooden barrels that focus on the fruit's flavours and lessens the influence of the wood - producing a traditional Italian wine style that is high in tannins and acidity. Yet completely unafraid to break free from convention, Angelo would introduce practices like high density planting, green harvesting, lowering of yields and the use of smaller French oak barriques, as well planting international varietals, and bottling his wines as single vineyard.

‘When I joined the business in 1961, the situation I found was good but also disheartening,... My grandmother Tildìn and my father Giovanni had put together 30ha of vineyards and created a brand. But the lack of recognition for our wines abroad weighed heavily... We had to get a move on and change the perception that foreigners had of our products.’ says Angelo, reflecting on the view at the time that Barbaresco's wines were "cheap and cheerful". 

Angelo was therefore convinced that not only did he need to find a way to raise the quality of the local Barbaresco wines, but that he also had to meet the international community in its lingua franca. ‘We needed a direct confrontation with the varieties best known abroad,’ says Angelo.

The Gaja family winery in Barbaresco.

Gaja Four Generations In The Making

But before we get into the heat of the revolution that Angelo would bring to the region, let's go back to the very start of Gaja.

Gaja finds its beginning in 1859, founded by Giovanni Gaja, who had then purchased two hectares of vineyards in Barbaresco. The Gaja family prior had its roots in Spain, and had arrived in Italy in the 17th century. Along with the winery, the family had also operated a tavern in the area, where it served its wines along with food. By the end of the 19th century, Gaja's wines were already bottled and supplied to the Italian army in Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia). Yet it was the third-generation Giovanni Gaja (the Gaja family has a rather long line of Giovanni's) who first put the name Gaja on the family's wine bottle labels, then emblazoned in big red letters. Over the years, Giovanni would go on to purchase several vineyards that grew the family's winery. It was thus Giovanni's son Angelo who entered the family's winery in 1961, at the age of just 21. He had by then completed studying winemaking at the university in Alba and also in France. It should be said that at the time, winemaking was not seen as an attractive profession, and thus the now highly prestigious regions of Barolo and Barbaresco was at the time populated with just about 100 producers.

The vineyards and rolling hills of Barbaresco.

Angelo's work trips with his father to France, and having spent time in London where he would learn English, would all prove formative to Angelo's thesis on where he needed to take the family's winery - he had seen first hand the difference in how French wines were made, and perhaps more importantly, how they were perceived to be the best in class, as opposed to what was said about Barbaresco's wines then. This triggered Angelo to begin engaging in a number of experiments at his family's vineyards. First, he would sought to raise the quality of the fruit produced through green harvesting where fruit would be removed early on for the vines to concentrate into fewer bunches. He stopped all purchases of fruit from outside growers, instead choosing to focus on growing the best fruit himself. He would also attempt to shift perception of the wines by producing single vineyard expressions (the now legendary Sori San Lorenzo, Sori Tildin and Costa Russi) that could evoke a distinct sense of terroir and provenance. He is also often credited for introducing malolactic fermentation to the Piemonte, where tart malic acid is made to convert into more creamy and silky lactic acid, thereby altering the way his wines were made and would ultimately taste. He would subsequently also employ the use of smaller French barriques that would influence the wines sweetness and spice, as well as temperature controlled fermentation to stabilise the wine's quality.

A young Angelo Gaja.

This importing of French techniques clearly did not go down well with Angelo's father, Giovanni, who believed that the family's wines should stay true to local traditions. And thus it was those painful words said by Giovanni, that Angelo would turn into triumph - in 1978, Angelo would rename his vineyard Darmagi, and it was from this prime Nebbiolo vineyard that he would produce Cabernet Sauvignon instead. Released in 1982, the Darmagi expression would go on to receive worldwide acclaim. Angelo's thesis was right - the world's attention would be captured and it would begin finding interest in Gaja's more local wines. Angelo would repeat this with new vineyards Gaia & Rey (named after Angelo's daughter, Gaia Gaja, who was born in the same year the vineyard was inaugurated, and his grandmother, Clotilda Rey) which were planted with Chardonnay, whilst Sauvignon Blanc would be planted in the Alteni di Brassica vineyard. Both would go on to find much success as well.

More Than Novelty, A Commitment To Quality

Yet Angelo Gaja's reputation for being fearlessly bold and courageous in pursuing quality and innovation was not built solely on bringing Barbaresco up to the international arena. Gaja also demonstrated his commitment to quality when in his 1984 vintage, he had refused to sell 12,000 cases of his wines as he had deemed them insufficient to meet his standards - the selling of the wines as bulk came of course as a great shock to his family, and yet sent a powerful message to the international wine community that only the best should be expected from Gaja. He would also show great fortitude in his rejection of a potential joint venture with a then globally celebrated Robert Mondavi when a Napa Valley project was being proposed, stating that Gaja was committed to only producing wines in Italy. Up till that point, the Gaja family had been based in Barbaresco, and thus it was time for Gaja to take over Barolo - Gaja would acquire the Sperss vineyard (and later Gromis), producing yet another highly acclaimed expression. He would eventually also expand outwards to Italy's increasingly highly anticipated sites, from Montalcino (with the Pieve Santa Restituta estate) to Ca'Marcanda in Bolgheri, Tuscany. 

And whilst it is undeniable that Gaja has done spectacularly to raise the profile of Barbaresco and Barolo, he's also not one to hide behind classifications as a means to give his wines value. In yet another shock move - as the world has come to expect no less from Angelo, he had decided that from the 1996 vintage on, he would intentionally declassify his otherwise utmost highly classified DOCG Barbaresco and Barolo wines, opting instead to qualify them under the lesser DOC class of Langhe Rosso. What others might find sacrilegious, in Gaja's own view, was an act that was done in support of the region. "I know what many journalists and others in the industry have said and continue to say, but my decision was actually made in support of Barbaresco. My family focused on Barbaresco made with Nebbiolo from 14 of the estate's vineyards, and it has always been the firm's historic wine. But while our single vineyard bottlings grew in prestige, our Barbaresco was suddenly referred to as normale or "basic", and considered inferior to the mono-crus, which I never intended. My family has been making wine and striving for excellence for over 150 years. I don't want anything we make to be considered 'regular'. So now I have one Barbaresco only." And with this hard fought freedom from dogma, Angelo would exercise his ability to add small amounts of Barbera to his wines in a bid to correct for acidity.

Fifth-generation Gaia Gaja in the family's cellars.

When it comes to winemaking, the description that has become prevalent when describing Gaja goes something like this "Gaja is Gaja". On the one hand, Gaja has proven embracing of modernity, and yet at the same time, he has no qualms holding on to traditional winemaking practices if they work for him. He ferments his wines for up to 30 days, a prolonged period that fits in well with classical Italian winemaking, and after which he gets his wines into smaller French oak barriques for the first year of aging, instantly defying Italian procedure, and yet finishes off by further aging his wines in big botti's (traditional old, large Slavonian oak barrels), which brings his winemaking back to the traditionalists. And hence it's easy to see why it remains difficult to classify Gaja one way or the other - and hence, Gaja is simply Gaja.

Gaja Into Modernity

Today, the Gaja family winery has been formally passed on to the fifth-generation of Gaja's - Gaia, Rossana and Giovanni, the daughters and sons of Angelo. Yet Angelo is far from done, continuing to commit himself to new projects that take him to the most forefront of Italian winemaking. More recently Angelo has committed himself in pursuit of creating climate change resistant vineyards, which are to be found at cooler and high elevation terroirs - this has led to projects such as IDDA, in partnership with Etna producer Graci, as well as a new white wine vineyard in Alta Langhe.

“I believe that old age starts when the regrets are more than the dreams.”

Angelo Gaja

And already, the new generation of Gaja's have begun to make their mark - they've reinstated Gaja's wines to the DOCG classification (albeit against their father's wishes), and are now pushing to convert the vineyards to organic status. Since 2014, the winery has also made the unprecedented move to finally open their wineries for visitor tours, yet with a catch - it'll cost €300 per person, which will be donated to charity.

A Guide To The Wines Of Gaja

Currently, the Gaja family owns 110 hectares of vines in Piemonte, with vineyards in Barbaresco (Barbaresco and Treiso) and Barolo (Serralunga d'Alba and La Morra), 27 hectares in Tuscany (the Pieve Santa Restituta estate in Montalcino) and a further 126 hectares in Bolgheri (the Ca'Marcanda estate), along with 20 hectares at Mount Etna and 30 hectares in Alta Langhe. The family produces over 17 labels which can be categorised by Barbaresco (Barbaresco DOCG, and single vineyards Costa Russi, Sori Tildin and Sori San Lorenzo), Barolo (Sperss, Conteisa, Dagromis), Brunello di Montalcino (Piece Santa Restituta, Rennina and Sugarille), Ca'Marcanda (Promis, Magari, Carmacanda, Vistamare), with additional key labels such as Darmagi, Gaia & Rey, IDDA, Alteni di Brassica, Gaja Langhe Sito Moresco, and Rossj-Bass.

‘You have to believe.’ ‘It’s a question of faith.’ ‘There’s no room for doubt!’

And so today we'll be trying Gaja's Rossj-Bass Chardonnay! First produced in 1988, this is a blend of Chardonnay with just a touch of Sauvignon Blanc, coming from the Treiso and Serralunga vineyards in Barbaresco and Barolo. It is fermented first in steel, with a 20% fermented in barrel, and then aged for 6 months in oak. It takes its name from Angelo's second daughter, Rossana, who is nicknamed Rossj, and has a vineyard also named after her! The second half of the name comes from the Italian word "Basso" (which means "low") which was used to describe a second vineyard that is located in the lower part of the hill. 

It's worth noting that over the past three decades of its making, the label has seen several shifts. Whilst at the heart of the expression is still estate-grown fruit predominantly from Barbaresco and also Barolo, there has been a push to involve the new Alta Langhe vineyard as Gaja works to accommodate rising temperatures in Barbaresco - with a small bit of fruit from the vineyard making its way to the label from the 2023 vintage. Winemaking has also shifted to the site from the 2023 vintage onwards. 

Let's go!

Wine Review: 2022 Gaja Rossj-Bass Langhe

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: It opens gently musky with a richness of gooseberry jams, accompanied by vanilla cream and some light hay. More tropical fruits in the form of fleshy mangosteens and langsats come through. This is more mellow and moderate, with greater concentration and richness instead of the more high toned Chardonnay's. It's alittle riper and more jammy, yet without being overtly so. It retains a freshness about it, with the lightest bit of acidity in the form of passionfruit and pomelos. Honey, vanilla cream and oak fills up the body of the aroma.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, definitely riper, with a more creamy and fuller body. Gooseberries and gooseberry jams, green pears and unripe apples, they provide some tartness and sourness in equal parts. More on hay, passionfruit and mangosteens. It's not apparent the sweetness, garnished with soft florals of elderflowers and more in the way of apple compote. With time, the acidity builds, yet remains far from sharp.

Finish: It gets more lifted here, taking a lighter tone, with again more acidity elevating it, yet still without ever being piercing, it still keeps its richness. More passionfruit and gooseberry compote persists through the finish. It's a nice and clean finish, with a lingering bit of hay and chalk.

My Thoughts

A very impressive Chardonnay that stands out for its concentration, fullness, and above all its ability to deftly balance richness with acidity!

Already on the nose, it's apparent the concentration of the fruit, fully loaded and packed in with such finesse, it's richer without being overtly jammy, yet at the same time this isn't one of those bright, high toned, glass thin whites. It's fuller and rounder, yet still very much fresh and presenting that acidity of the fruit. On the palate, it fully owns that creaminess and richness, yet somehow it's hardly sweet, with the acidity continuing to build as it does all the way through the finish. The acidity is however never slicing or even streaky, instead it is very evenly expressed through the body, presenting itself almost in waves that's well-integrated into the body. Into the finish, we see the acidity crescendo to give it a nice lift of freshness, yet all the whilst still preserving that richness. Some of that hay and chalk finally makes an appearance at the finish, expressing a sense of the terroir.

A very impressive Chardonnay that's balanced, demonstrates poise and finesse, and strikes with great presence.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot