Depth, structure and complexity are the hallmarks of Nebbiolo, and this wine certainly delivers but also offers a juicy helping of fresh berry fruits. It is blended from 14 different sites throughout the Barbaresco DOCG with an average of 40 years of vine age. Barbaresco is the wine that launched the Gaja legacy in 1859. Aromatics of spiced orange peel, an assertive bouquet of dried purple florals and a touch of dried mint. The palate balances the savoury character of baking chocolate and fennel seed with an abundance of ripe red berry fruits—notes of strawberry and balsamic, raspberries and fresh mint and dried tobacco. There is ample structure, but a stylistic transition in more recent vintages of Barbaresco makes this wine immediately drinkable.

The 2020 Barbaresco is a very young wine. In most years, the Gaja Barbaresco is quite showy, but the 2020 clearly needs time. There's terrific fruit intensity, but the aromatics aren't quite expressive. These days the Gaja wines have less oak imprint, which pushes the fruit forward, but also yields a wine that is a bit more austere in the early going.

The Gaja 2020 Barbaresco reveals a slow and steady approach with elegant Nebbiolo nuances, lots of pretty intensity and bright primary fruit all the way to the far end of the mouthfeel. The bouquet has hints of toasted cumin, spice and cured leather. There's special depth to the mouthfeel that is pushed forward by freshness, integrated tannins and savory earthy end notes. The style is modern-classic.