Gaja, Costa Russi

Served alongside the 05 Giacomo Conterno Cascino Francia, 04 Aldo Conterno Romirasco, 90 Aldo Conterno Vigna Cicala, & 03 Mascarello Monprivato. Double decanted 5-6 hours prior to serving. Initial impression at the time of decanting very positive. Very structured as expected, but thought with air it would improve. It is an excellent wine, no doubt, but did not shine like some of the others ( except the other 05 that was also disappointing...? a vintage thing? ) . I think …

2005 vintage

Roasted Mediterranean herbs, prunes and orange peel with very smooth mouthfeel. Perfectly balanced with roasted plums and smoky long finish. Sweet red date peel lingers, longing for more

1997 vintage

Dark garnet, bearing enticing scents of tar, leather, smoke, dark cherry, dried fig, black licorice, and tobacco leaf. Nice balance of tannin, acid, sweetness with plum conserve and tobacco flavors. Dark and rich with ample finish. Some initial astringency that resolved after an hour of aeration. A good decade and then some remains.

1997 vintage

Ordered this in Napoli. Big, rich, dark fruit and earth. Lots of finesse in here. Very good length. Drinking well.

1997 vintage

Clear medium garnet; clean medium plus nose of balsamic, dried blackberries, cigar box and cracked leather; dry; high acidity; high tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate is tarter with a red cherry/strawberry top note and a tar/black licorice bass; long finish; great mix of fruit and tertiary - drink now or in 10 years; wow - what an amazing wine - silky, velvety and seductive

2005 vintage

Sixteenth Annual White Truffle Dinner (Inovasi - Lake Bluff IL) : In Gaja '97 Langhe Nebbiolo horizontal, all decanted 5 hours in advance. One step behind the amazing Sori Tilin. Rich red cherry, well spiced. Very well balanced with good+ density, very good length. Easy to enjoy for the next decade+.

1997 vintage

2 hour decant Floral dominated nose with some dark black fruit, truffles, anise, wet earth and spice. The body has great tension with young sweet tannins and some red fruit balanced by a firm acidity and a touch of dryness from remaining unresolved tannins. Long long finish. Early days of a great drinking window but right in the sweet spot for me.

2005 vintage

1 hour decant @ Spartina Some bricking in the color. Overall really nice. There’s a mix of currant, cherry and oak, but some age is also evident. Some tannic bite on the finish This wine is improving with time. It needed a two hour decant.

2005 vintage

Tasted blind. For over 60 minutes it was hard to discern. The dominant red fruits had some tanginess and spice like a Carignan and the color seemed more like Primativo. As the second hour approached, the more traditional Nebbiolo flavors started to take over and bloom. A really interesting and lovely wine. I'd go back to this one many times over.

2005 vintage

Wide and seductive aromas with heavy raspberry fruit, summer flower, dried roses, hints of autumn leaves, salt, graphite, and nut. Good full-bodied wine that in many ways tries to spread with the warmer and wider feel of the vintage, but structures take hold and grab the fruit and keep it more vibrant. Great redberry fruit, tight salt nerve, a little orange fruit, deep salt minerals and with a nice juicy pinch touch on the finish. Acidity holder stand, the tannins …

2017 vintage

Beautiful wine. Ripe and ready to dtink

2005 vintage

SLDS - September 2020 #2 : Violets, cherry, spice and blackberry. The fruit quality is undeniable, with great tension between sweetness, acid and tannin. Plenty of things happening, but it really needs more time - another 10 years might be right?

2005 vintage

Plum, tar, florals. Serious and intense, but subtle. Really well balanced. Mouth-filling, silty tannins, good length. More upside possible with time.

2005 vintage

Gorgeous wine. Drinking very well right now, though I'm sure its window will last many more years.

2005 vintage

Mama it’s 91st. With Italian gravy and rigatoni

1997 vintage

Acker 2019/06 (Hong Kong) : Tart and bodied fruit with a round and tannic palate. Need more time. 94

1997 vintage

The Grill - OdV/Shlappes/Natasha/pol - 01 Chabert (94) / 97 costa Russi (94)

1997 vintage

Amazing Nebbiolo! Dark red, nearly black color, plum, wet earth and violets in the nose. Still a little closed shortly after opening. Allow it to breathe for an hour in the decanter. Dark sour cherries, blackcurrant, some licorice and smoky pblack pepper on the palate. Deep structured body, feels younger than 2005 - tannins still very present, but not too harsh. Acidity is a little high in my opinion. Very long lasting finish, absolutely beautiful right now and will easily …

2005 vintage

The Stars of Barbaresco (Michaeangelo Hotel) : Oak much more integrated here than the Sori Tildin right before although it's still there. There's a darker set of red fruits that come through. The oak in this case seems to add almost a touch more depth and power to the wine. Many thought this was the most boring of the Gaja 97's, but I didn't mind it (did not to me compare to the Bruno Giacosa we had after the Roagna …

1997 vintage

The Kirsch Italian Extravaganza (677 Prime, Albany, NY) : [Double-decanted around 2pm.] Black plums and spice in the nose. Big, tarry, rich, quite young. Should drink well for 20 more years. Quite modern and powerful, but not oaky.

1997 vintage

opened 10 hours prior, double-decanted 3½ hours prior, and poured into decanter 30 minutes prior to serving. Tannins were still here. Not bad, but not as opened as I had hoped... although it was also more muted compared to Sorì San Lorenzo even just after opening. A little smoky nose, and still somewhat sweet on the palate.

1997 vintage

Corked. (Looked funny upside down in the kitchen sink. Bottle a month ago maybe 95 points. Leather, red and black currants, damp leaves �� and loveliness.)

1997 vintage

TG dinner ME +1, CB, PT, kids... 4th of night...hard to compete with rest '88 Yquem '98 Vogue Musigny VV (opened late) '89 Jabouet La Chapelle (corked) '90 Angelus (best of night) '97 Gaja costa Russi '90 Pegau Cuvée Réservée

1997 vintage

Garnet body. Dried leaves, sage and dark fruit and leather nose. Soft and balanced body with hints of black pepper on the palate. Very long finish.

1997 vintage

A Sunday spring evening with friends (home) : In the glass, dark orange-red-black, very youthful. On the nose, cassis, anise, and a secondary note of violets. On the palate, initially a tannic monster, but one hour in the decanter turned this wine around, with more balanced aromatics, additional notes of tar and dark chocolate, and a much more refined mid-palate. Still coming across as a very young wine - another 5 years would help to calm this down.

1997 vintage

Drank from a magnum that was decanted and splashed between decanters for 6 hours. Still so young, acidic, and tannic. All structure with only the truffle filled nose coming through. Some anise, oak, mushroom, and tart red fruit coming out.

2005 vintage

Decanted for 4 hours. Wow. Great dark ruby color with really no signs of the bricking at the edges. Quite frankly darker than you'd expect of a Nebbiolo. Big nose; smoke, cedar and plum jump out. Palate is huge, and lingers. Tons of fruit there. Very modern. Lots of life left although drinking great.

1997 vintage

Nick's four wine pairs : Black-red colour. A beautiful dark bouquet speaking of a young Gaja (and 19 years old is young for a Gaja!). Black cherries, liquorice, violets and a touch of cassis on bouquet. On the second evening an even more intense bouquet showing more road tar, sottobosco and soy. Very dark fruited on palate. A huge volume of primary dark fruit, with balsamico, liquorice, espresso and tar. Huge structure and tannins on the mid and back palate. …

1997 vintage

Amazingly rich Barolo with deep dark berries, tar, spice framed in a large lush taste profile on the palate. Decanted for an hour and the wine held and improved dramatically over dinner. Superb.

1997 vintage

A part of what I think has been the greatest trio of related wines I ever tasted together; the 1997 Sorì San Lorenzo, Costa Russi and the Sorì Tildìn. Part of our dinner series with Heinz. Opened and decanted for about 3 hours. Typical Barolo roses but changing notes with every inhale. Delicate palate reminiscent of Chambolle.

1997 vintage

Väldigt bra. Se noteringar 2015-04-05

2005 vintage

Negociants Australia New Release Tasting : Rose florals, lime, lemon and ginger. Quite clean motuhfeel, it doesn't burn even with the alcohol kick. Very pleasant after dinner drink.

Första flaskan från lådan. Känns som att det var dags att prova. Väldigt djup, komplex och tillgänglig doft av mörka körsbär, violer, tjära, lakrits, rosor, apelsinskal, mint och tobak. Elegant och kraftfullt vin med bra grepp i tanninerna. Väldig fint balanserat och bra längd. Väntar nog 2-3 år innan jag öppnar nästa flaska.

2005 vintage

killer wine, still dark color at 18 years, which have only softened the tannins without detracting from the structure. decanted for an hour at McGrady's, it had a fabulous nose with different scents at every sniff, on the palate, it was as soft as a baby's rump with rich depth, lots of dark fruit and an everlasting finish.

1997 vintage

Drunk alongside 89 Montrose. Left in bottle for 2 hours after opening. Took a while to open up and then excellent

1997 vintage

Zachy's Wine Auction - Spring 2014 (Smith & Wollensky (48th & 3rd Ave)) : Again, just way too young for an Italian to be drunk, but there's a lot of promise here. I get cinnamon and red currant and some cedar. The tannins are almost overpowering though at the end.

2005 vintage

still has tannins and acidity to go longer. right out of the bottle the tannins and and acid took over with fruit on the nose, but not coming through. after about 30-45 min in the glass the fruit was open and in the front. will wait a few years before opening the others.

1997 vintage

Amazing purple, dark violets in the glass. The nose is so aromatic, full of stewed plums, cigar box, tar, licorice and flowers. Such an elegant nose, and you can tell right away that it is going to be in good balance with acidity, fresh fruit and earthy richness. Frankly, It was still way too big for my palate. I'm disappointed that I opened it already -- the tannins are huge and grippy. This wine has all the complexity to be …

2005 vintage

Elegant cherry to raspberry nose with nice savoury aspects as well. Meat, some tar, truffles and chocolate. Violets and more refined oak hints after breathing. Bright and refreshing as well as relaxed and complex - all at the same time. Silky tannins and sweet edge to the fruit. A string of notes gradually emerges after the first attack of fruit tones down: liquorice, smoke, earth, tar and tobacco. Very long. Drank alongside -97 Sorì Tildìn and Sorì San Lorenzo this …

1997 vintage

Decanted for 1 hour. Very elegant soft wine which was overpowered by the other wines in our blind wine tasting. Fully mature, well balanced with long aftertaste.

1997 vintage

Rest in the glass for an hour, ruby color, nose of sweet berries, licorice, spice and herbs. Well balance on the palate, still feel the freshness with nice acidity and med finish. 3 hours from pop, it turned into the toffee, fruits and spicy nose. Try again in a few years and it shall get merrier.

1997 vintage

Labor Day Wines (Gaja, Dunn, La Grand Dame, and more...) (Portland, ME) : Color: Ruby with light bricking at the rim (barely showing sign of age) Smell: Holly $h!t. This is freaking awesome! Tar, roses, dried red fruits, very "rustic" with hints of truffle and forest floor. Taste: Cherry, cranberry, wild strawberry, tobacco, coffee grinds, woodsy notes, and a subtle note of wild Maine blueberries Overall: This was just opened and I'm already impressed. I will be decanting this for …

1997 vintage

Gaja tasting w/Angelo Gaja (Seattle, WA) : Beautiful nose of roses, tar, currants and raspberries. The rose aromas were just incredible. Not perfumed at all, just like rose petals in early summer. The palate had sour cherry, currant, tar and minerals. This was more tannic than the Sori Tildin, but still managed to be fairly approachable now. Another amazing wine.

2005 vintage

Are you sure?

Gaja, Costa Russi

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews