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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
The Sorì Tildìn vineyard is named after the beloved matriarch of the GAJA family, Clotilde Rey, daughter-in-law of founder Giovanni Gaja. Known for her strong personality, the adored Clotilde was affectionately known by the nickname Tildìn (teel-DEEN), a diminutive of her Christian name.
Like the Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn is widely considered one of the greatest growing sites in Italy today. Purchased in 1967, the 8-acre vineyard is situated in the township of Barbaresco. It was first vinified as a single-vineyard wine in 1970 (reclassified as a Langhe DOC in 2000 like the Sorì San Lorenzo). Sorì Tildìn delivers a round, subtly textured expression of Nebbiolo, and will age superbly for more than 40 years in exceptional vintages.
Vuosikerta 1996
Italy Vintage Report by Tb: 1996 was an excellent continuation of the preceding year. Temperatures exceeding 30°C at the beginning of June accelerated and balanced the start of the blooming period. The summer growing season enjoyed ideal conditions, in which the grapes were allowed to ripen slowly and evenly. The autumn rains did not present any mould problems due to the cool temperatures. Nebbiolo grapes were thick-skinned, very concentrated and ripe. The 1996 Barolos and Barbarescos are abundantly fruity, supple and robust wines, whose quality is on a par with the 1990 vintage. In Tuscany Chianti and Montalcino enjoyed extraordinary success. Montepulciano did not do quite as well, but producers in Tuscany considered 1996 to be nearly every bit as good as it was in 1995. Starting with this vintage Angelo Gaja classified his legendary single-vineyard Barbarescos and Barolos as IGTs. Gaja said that the reason for doing this was his desire to differentiate his previous modern single-vintage wines from his family’s pride, the traditional Barbaresco, whose importance he wanted to emphasise as his only DOCG wine. The venerable Chianti producer, Castello di Ama decided that from 1996 on it would focus on the production of Chianti Classico, placing less emphasis on its single-vineyard wines, the Bellavista and La Casuccia.
The wines are still maturing very nicely, even if the Chiantis should, in my opinion, be enjoyed soon due to their sheer deliciousness.