Gaja White Truffle Dinner at Wine Watch

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 07:00 PM

This Event has been read: 3146 times.

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"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." 
Lucille Ball

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There is nothing that is quite as decadent as white truffles but if you are going to pair a wine with this unique culinary experience Nebbiolo would be my first, second and third choice.  The Piedmont is one of the world's most unique grape growing regions and is the only area where the Nebbiolo varietal makes a high quality age worthy wine.  This is also the only part of the world where you can harvest the white truffle.   These truly unique fungi  are not only very intense in flavor but also incredibly expensive, pound for pound the most expensive food in the world today.  This is one of the only times when it comes to food and wine where the food almost always costs more than the wine here at our “Once in a Lifetime” events. 

Join us as we experience one of the rare culinary treats alongside one of the great wine producers of the Piedmont with a selection of every top wine that Angelo Gaja makes in the Piedmont along with one of the greatest older vintage wines from this producer that we have ever tasted the legendary 1978 vintage Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo.   Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making a special tasting menu to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this event is $395 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

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Gaja and White Truffle Tasting at Wine Watch
Friday, October 30th
7pm

 

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2012 Gaja Chardonnay Gaia and Rey Langhe
Price: $327.50    Sale $288.20

The wine is made originally from 9 acres planted to Chardonnay in the township of Treiso. With this historic bottling, Angelo Gaja showed the world that exceptional white wines could be produced in the Langhe Hills, where red wines had been produced almost exclusively before. He also delivered to the world what is now considered one of the greatest white wines of Europe, a truly remarkable accomplishment in a country where red grapes have historically dominated the realm of fine wine. Today, some of the fruit is also sourced from growing sites in Serralunga. In good vintages, the aging potential for this wine can exceed 10, 15, and even 20 years. GAJA recommends letting it age at least 5 years before opening and at least a half hour of aeration in a decanter before service.

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2000 Gaja Costa Russi

(100 Points) Fabulous aromas of rose petals and cherries with hints of raspberries. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and an incredible finish. This is so fine and so long. A real beauty that grows and grows on the palate. Great Nebbiolo. Greatest Costa Russi ever, from 34-year-old vines. Best after 2010. 890 cases made. “JS Wine Spectator Issue: Jul 31, 2004

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1999 Gaja Costa Russi
Price: $395.00

(93 Points) 1999 Langhe Costa Russi—Dark ruby. The 1999 Costa Russi is a soft, supple effort for the vintage, with a deeply nuanced nose and a rich core of sweet dark fruit buffered by prominent minerality on the seamless, long palate. Although not especially complex, this Costa Russi exhibits an elegance and finesse in its understated expression, and it is undoubtedly a highly enjoyable wine. True to type, it is also the most accessible of the single-vineyard wines from Barbaresco. It should age gracefully until at least age 20. 93/drink after 2009, 03/06

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1998 Gaja Sperss

(97 Points) The 1989 Barolo Sperss is wonderfully complete and polished, as layers of seamless, ripe fruit emerge from its powerful frame with tons of class. The wine reveals stunning elegance and purity wrapped around a powerful core of Serralunga fruit that speaks volumes of the greatness of this terroir. The 1989 Sperss can be enjoyed today as the tannins are incredibly finessed, but it also looks to have many years of profound drinking ahead of it. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.

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1998 Gaja Barbaresco

(91 Points) Gaja's 1989 Barbaresco offers sweet, rich, tobacco, black-cherry, spicy fruit touched gently by new oak. It is made in a full-bodied, powerful style, with admirable depth. Approachable now, this wine should only improve over the next 10-12 years; it will last for two decades. Wine Advocate # 92 Apr 1994

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1997 Gaja Barbaresco

(95 Points) Super Barbaresco. Intense aromas of ripe plums, violets and berries lead to a full-bodied palate with chewy tannins. Long finish tastes of superripe fruit. Lovely and powerful wine. Best after 2005. 5,000 cases made. “JS Wine Spectator Issue: December 31, 2000

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1996 Gaja Barbaresco

(92 points)  Aromas of raspberry jam, with rose petal undertones. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. This is beautiful now. Just right. Wine Spectator (Web Only- 2007)  

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1982 Gaja Barbaresco San Tildin

10/4/2015 –  on Wine Searcher 94 Points
Gaja Charity Dinner & Tasting for HealthServe (Taberna, Bukit Merah): In a magnum, this was lovely. The nose was just a bit tight at first, taking a bit of time to come around. When it did, little puffs of smoke and earth and a little meatiness made way for nuances of dark cherries, dried flowers and herbs. The palate was much the same. It was almost a bit tight and seemingly rustic at first, quite uncharacteristic for a Gaja I thought, with fine but firm tannins and earthy, herby, meaty nuances at the fore. With a bit of time and air though, the wine really opened up and softened, showing a lovely clarity and grace in burgeoning flavours of dark cherries and dried berries all wrapped in beautifully integrated acidity. It was quite surprising how the wine went from tight to a wonderfully clean, clear, almost precise expression in half an hour, with an underlying sweetness in its fruit just starting to bubble to the surface. This felt so youthful and effortless. Lovely finish too, with the dark fruit met with a sprinkle of spice and earth and a little hint of meat, all still puckered with a touch of grippy tannins. A lovely wine and, in a magnum at least, this could go on for decades on end.

 

1978 Gaja Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo

(94 points) Angelo Gaja’s 1978 Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo was awesome. Still youthful and full of life, it flowed from the glass with notable sweetness and richness in an expansive, enveloping style. This very complete and beautiful wine warranted much more time than our tasting allowed. Readers fortunate enough to own this Barbaresco are in for a real treat. It was stunning. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2023.(Antonio Galloni) (9/ 2008) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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Menu:

White Truffles over mini potato deviled eggs

Snapper Crudo with White Truffle

Gnocchi with white Truffle Creme

Veal Carpaccio with white and black Truffles along with a nest of fine herbs

White Truffle and dark chocolate covered bacon

 

The fee for this event is $395 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

A bit about Gaja Winery:

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He has been called a restless genius; others have been less charitable in their characterizations of Angelo Gaja (pronounced GUY-YAH).  Gaja is a fourth generation winegrower from Barbaresco, one of Italy's premier wine districts in Piedmont in northern Italy.  As controversial as Angelo Gaja is, nobody disputes his great talents as a winemaker or his ability to generate interest in his wines.  Gaja in his relatively short career has become the highest profile grower in Piedmont as well as Italy's most famous winemaker.  He has accomplished this through consummate skill at both winemaking and public relations.  He describes himself as "vain"; we translate that to mean that he is not the least bit reluctant to be an unabashed publicist for his own wines.  Gaja has traveled extensively throughout the world hyping the Gaja name while also trying to learn more about how he might apply new technology in order to improve his own wines.  He first visited California for this purpose in 1974, and it is presumed that it was there that he became fascinated with the "barrique" concept - the idea of aging his reds in small oak barrels.  He has broken new ground in many areas, and even his critics begrudgingly admit that the results speak for themselves.  Gaja is now regarded as Piedmont's leading producer of Barbaresco, and his wines command prices that rival those charged anywhere in the world.

The Gaja firm has been bottling wines since the early 1900's; in 1964 a decision was made to contract the size of the Gaja winery and produce only wines from the winery's own vineyards.  The fact that the Gaja winery produces only estate wines is a most salient point in the gospel according to Gaja, for he feels that the consumer is willing to pay more for "authentic Gaja".  Gaja is the largest private owner of vineyards in the Barbaresco zone with 153 acres.  About half the annual Gaja production of 22,000 cases is Barbaresco - the rest is split between Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, a nouveau-style Nebbiolo called Vinot, several Chardonnays, a Cabernet, and a Barolo.  The Cabernet and Chardonnay have been very controversial in this part of Italy where tradition and conservative values reign supreme.  To plant foreign grapes in Barbaresco was heresy to some; but Gaja defends against those charges by pointing out that in the 1890's - before phylloxera destroyed the vineyards - there were Cabernet and Chardonnay vines planted in Piedmont.  Even the retired Giovanni Gaja, Angelo Gaja's father (who is now said to like the Cabernet planted in the Gaja vineyards), referred to the Cabernet plantings as "darmagi" - "such a pity."  He felt that it was a pity that Cabernet - not the native Nebbiolo - was being planted in a prime vineyard site by his son.  The name stuck, and Gaja's Cabernet is called Darmagi.  We have tasted the Chardonnay and the Cabernet with Gaja and on several other occasions and have been impressed with their quality; their price, however, is extremely ambitious.

In 1988 Gaja purchased a Barolo vineyard in the Marenca e Rivette area of the village of Serralunga.  The property was well known to Gaja, for his father often purchased fruit from this vineyard in order to produce Barolo in the 1940's and 1950's.  This long standing desire to return to Barolo was reflected in the name Gaja selected for the Barolo.  The name "Sperss" is an expression in Piedmontese dialect that translates to "profound longing or nostalgia" (in this case nostalgia for Barolo.)  The first two releases - the 1988 and 1989 Sperss - have met extraordinary critical reception.  The 1989 was selected as the number two wine in the TOP 100 wines of 1993 and scored a (96) in The Wine Spectator!

Gaja has made his name with Barbaresco.  Both Barbaresco and Barolo are produced from the Nebbiolo grape within a few miles of each other in Piedmont.  Gaja ages his Barbaresco in small new oak barrels, and he manages to produce a wine that takes on a certain subtlety and suppleness without losing the personality of the Nebbiolo grape.  One way Gaja manages to do this is by steam cleaning the inside of his brand new oak barrels in order to remove some of the oak extract they might otherwise impart to the new wine - a rather shocking technique that works!  His Barbarescos have a unique personality for other reasons as well.  He picks his grapes late for more extract and color, but he also strives to produce a harmonious wine with more aroma and flavor and less tannin.  These and many other factors are what make Gaja Barbarescos unique and sought out by connoisseurs all over the world.  In addition to Gaja's regular Barbaresco, he bottles three "crus" - but only in great years.  His single vineyard Barbarescos - "Sorì San Lorenzo", "Sorì Tildìn", and "Costa Russi" - are quite possibly the best produced in Italy and among the world's noblest red wines.  Over the past decade Angelo Gaja has really excelled with his Barbaresco - producing fabulous world-class wines in vintages such as 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997,  1998, 1999, 2000 and this 2001.  The Piedmont has seen an unprecedented string of outstanding vintage from 1996-2001.  All three of Gaja's single cru Barbarescos rated a (95) or better in The Wine Spectator; in both 1996 & 1997 and in 1998 two of the three rated (95) or better, an incredible track record for the last three releases.  Generally of the three crus produced by Gaja, the Sorì San Lorenzo is the slowest maturing, the longest-lived, and the least approachable in its youth.  The Costa Russi is the most approachable when young, while the Sorì Tildìn falls between the two.

In The Gambero Rosso (the Italian wine Bible) Gaja is the only producer in the Piedmont with a rating of “Two Stars”, indicating the number of times his wines have received the coveted “Three Glass” award.  Gaja’s wines have received twenty-one (a star for every ten “Three Glass” wine).  They call Gaja “Here we are in the presence of what is undoubtedly the best Italian winery, to judge from the quality of its wines; colleagues and wine critics from all over the world admit as much.”

 

The rest of the Gaja wines that we have available in the store

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2011 Gaja Barbaresco
Price: $246.00

(93 points)  The 2011 Barbaresco opens to a dark garnet color and shows immediate opulence and intensity where its aromas are concerned. There’s an undeniable level of finesse and focus here that goes against all the things you might assume about a warmer vintage like 2011. The mouthfeel is perfectly tempered and smooth with an incredible sense of liveliness and dimension. Fruit is sourced from Gaja’s many vineyard holdings. Drink: 2017-2035.  eRobertParker.com #213, Jul 2014

 

2010 Gaja Barolo Sperss
Price: $285.00

(96 points)     The 2010 Sperss delivers a broad approach to the bouquet with bold flavors of red fruit, spice and milk chocolate that caress the palate. The wine sports a broad frame with beautiful fruit filling at its core. The tannins in Sperss are very firm and structured and this wine won’t be ready for five to ten more years. Drink: 2018-2040.  eRobertParker.com #213, Jul 2014

 

2005 Gaja Costa Russi
Price: $399.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The 2005 Costa Russi shimmers on the palate with extraordinary grace. The wine boasts wonderful depth and richness in its dark red fruit in a round, generous style that offers lovely balance to the tannins. Notes of tar, smoke and licorice develop in the glass, adding a touch of complexity and nuance that is sometimes missing in this bottling. The French oak is present, but deftly balanced with the wine's other components. As always, Costa Russi comes across as relatively accessible when young, but it is sure to only improve with age. Recent bottles of the 1985 have been nothing short of glorious. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030.

I was blown away by Angelo Gaja's 2005 wines from Barbaresco. When all is said and done, Gaja may have well produced not the wine, but rather the wines of the vintage in a year that was excellent but not profound. While Gaja's 2005 don't have the explosive, multi-dimensional personalities of his 2004s, they are vibrant offerings that will thrill readers who love Piedmont wines. As always, Gaja blends in a small percentage of Barbera in his single-vineyard wines, but that is hardly noticeable in this vintage. I also noted less new oak than has generally been the case in the recent past. The wines showcase very pure expressions of Nebbiolo and are made in a style that appears to make fewer concessions to the decidedly international approach of previous vintages. In short, these are the most Piedmontese wines I have tasted from Angelo Gaja in a long time. Could it be that the greatest innovator in Piedmont over the last thirty five-plus years has taken a small step towards a more classic style? Wine Advocate # 179, Oct 2008

 

2001 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo
Price: $495.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) A very silky wine with berry, cedar and tobacco character. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Lovely. Seductive and racy. Very long indeed. Strength yet finesse. Best after 2007. 970 cases made. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Oct 31, 2005

 

1999 Gaja Sori Tildin
Price: $395.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(95)1999 Langhe Sori Tildin ”The 1999 Sori Tildin is a knockout wine. It offers a classic, expressive nose of flowers and spices and somewhat austere profile of sweet red fruit, minerals and menthol on a mid-weight frame. It is the hardest of these wines to read today, but I found myself coming back to it often and discovering new nuances with each taste. It is clearly a wine of much potential and should start to drink well in another few years and last until age 25-30. It will be a fascinating wine to follow. Drink after 2011, 03/06 Italy Report # G7 May 2006

 

1999 Gaja Costa Russi
Price: $395.00
Quantity in Stock: 13

(93 Points) 1999 Langhe Costa Russi—Dark ruby. The 1999 Costa Russi is a soft, supple effort for the vintage, with a deeply nuanced nose and a rich core of sweet dark fruit buffered by prominent minerality on the seamless, long palate. Although not especially complex, this Costa Russi exhibits an elegance and finesse in its understated expression, and it is undoubtedly a highly enjoyable wine. True to type, it is also the most accessible of the single-vineyard wines from Barbaresco. It should age gracefully until at least age 20. 93/drink after 2009, 03/06

 

1998 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo
Price: $395.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 Points) The multi-faceted 1998 Sori San Lorenzo offers up notes of lead pencil, smoke, tobacco, tar, rose petals, black fruits, and espresso. Already incredibly expressive, soft, sexy, and voluptuous, jammy fruits infused with toasty oak cascade over the palate. This easily understood, seamless, pure, classic 1998 should drink well for 20-25 years. Wine Advocate #137 (Oct 2001)

 

1995 Gaja Costa Russi Piedmont
Price: $450.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(90 Points) 1995 tends to be a good rather than great vintage in Piedmont, but Gaja's sensational 1995s are among the stars of the vintage. This wine possesses extremely saturated dark ruby/purple colors, almost atypical for Nebbiolo. The 1995 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a full-bodied, fruit-driven, and powerful wine, it possesses copious quantities of black raspberry and cherry fruit, as well as toasty new oak. There is even an element of sur-maturite in this large-scaled, expansively flavored effort. I would not be surprised to see it age for 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020+. Wine Advocate #124 (Aug 1999)

 

Gaja's Property in Bolgheri

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2008 Gaja Ca' Marcanda Ca Marcanda
Price: $139.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

This wine derives its name from Ca’Marcanda, the winery. Ca'Marcanda is the Piedmontese term for "house of endless negotiations" and it refers to the many hours that Angelo Gaja spent convincing the property's previous owners to sell the estate vineyard that produces this wine to him. This vineyard is from one of the stoniest sites of the Ca'Marcanda estate in Castegneto Carducci (Bolgheri). Its 100% terre bianche (white soils) are ideal for producing long-lived wines.

 

Gaja’s property in Montalcino

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2010 Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille
Price: $209.25
Quantity in Stock: 3

(96 Points)  The Gaja family's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille opens to striking intensity and beauty that is apparent even as you pour the wine from the bottle. The wine's appearance is dark and so perfectly saturated with dark garnet and ruby highlights. On the nose, it shows infinite aromas of dark fruit, plum, dried figs, licorice, grilled herbs, cola and so much more. The complexity is outstanding. The Sugarille single vineyard delivers power and structure that gives this wine such a firm presence on the palate. But you also get a great sense of the quality of fruit that was harvested in 2010. Angelo Gaja skipped the 2009 vintage. But this vintage makes up for the loss with its long aging potential. This is an amazing wine to put way at the back of your cellar for ten years or more. What a delight.

Angelo Gaja and his family have released two masterpieces from their Montalcino cellars (after skipping the 2009 vintage). These are amazing wines that stand out in a blind tasting thanks to their infinite extract, density and all-round excellence. They follow an elaborately developed house style that applies to Gaja's efforts in Piedmont and Bolgheri as well. These two Brunellos are more marked by the "Gaja" touch than the Montalcino signature. The personalized winemaking style overrides the territory-driven typicity. But no matter: These wines are simply delicious. eRobertParker.com #217, Feb 2015

 

2010 Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Rennina
Price: $191.25    Sale $168.30
Quantity in Stock: 4

(97 Points)  An outstanding surprise, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a monumental wine. The Rennina single vineyard is said to be more feminine compared to the bolder fruit sourced in the nearby Sugarille cru. But in the 2010 vintage, you definitely get a compelling sense of power, density and extraction. What distinguishes the wine is the delicate mineral signature that appears through the thick texture of the fruit. It's like background music that gives cozy ambiance to an elaborately furnished ballroom. I consider the 2010 Rennina a masterpiece and, again, I just don't know how Angelo Gaja does it. He is the winemaker with the Midas touch. Truth be told, the wine does lack territory-driven typicity. But it's just so darn good, it hardly matters. It will continue its evolution for 10-20 years. Congratulations.

Angelo Gaja and his family have released two masterpieces from their Montalcino cellars (after skipping the 2009 vintage). These are amazing wines that stand out in a blind tasting thanks to their infinite extract, density and all-round excellence. They follow an elaborately developed house style that applies to Gaja's efforts in Piedmont and Bolgheri as well. These two Brunellos are more marked by the "Gaja" touch than the Montalcino signature. The personalized winemaking style overrides the territory-driven typicity. But no matter: These wines are simply delicious.  eRobertParker.com #217, Feb 2015

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