Tasting Notes
Sweet notes on the nose with a beautiful structure of fruit tannins with a lovely, intense color. It is closed initially but when it opens, it has a striking, multifaceted, dense texture. The cask aging also gives the wine a great edge, a little more verve, and tension with notes of salinity, citrus, cassis, currants, mustard, smokiness, and licorice. A deeply complex wine.
The aromas are like a bouquet of pink roses. So perfumed. Citrus. It also has subtle and pure aromas of strawberries, cherries and stone. Full-bodied but agile and floating on the palate with firm and chewy tannins at the end that remain balanced and fresh. Needs five or six years to soften.
The 2020 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is ample and potent, with tons of mid-palate intensity and palate-staining resonance. Black cherry, plum, new leather, licorice, gravel and dried herbs abound. As is so often the case, Sorì San Lorenzo is the most inward. (Antonio Galloni)
The closest of Gaja's three crus to the Tanaro river, the vineyard is more humid and temperatures in the summer are mild. ‘Nebbiolo loves humidity,’ asserted Gaia Gaja, who pointed out that the higher limestone content in the soils here results in thicker skins, giving better resistance to mildew and also resulting in more tannins in the wine. The textural tannins are immediately obvious in this 2020, supporting delicate, fragrant and sapid dark forest fruits, overlaid with scents of dried cherry and earth. (James Button)
Aromas of black cherry, macerated raspberries, incense and black tea define the nose. Mouthfilling, the wine’s palate shines with preserved red berries, savory herbs, dried flowers and cedar that seamlessly coalesce around the ripe tannins and elegant finish. (Jeff Porter)
Amplifying further, the 2020 Sori San Lorenzo is more muscular, with mouth-filling fruit and ripe tannins. It takes on more layers and is the most full-bodied of the wines, although it retains its stylistic elegance. It is spiced, with a bit of cedar and lavender. (Audrey Frick)
Elements of eucalyptus and juniper grace the cherry and raspberry fruit in this intense, complex red. Mineral and spice accents chime in as this builds to a long aftertaste. The texture is supple and there's plenty of energy on the resonant finish, where a chalky feel adds to the overall appeal. (Bruce Sanderson)