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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate/The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a very botanical wine in terms of its aromas, with lovely perfumes of rose, elderflower, sambuco and anise seed, along with a touch of glycerine. It then follows up with some sweetness that feels very embracing in this wine. This is the more ephemeral, delicate and floral member of the extended Barbaresco family from Gaja, with a crunchy tannic bite, but nothing too severe. There is a really good vitality and energy to this very expressive wine. Costa Russi remains the smallest of Gaja's single-vineyard wines, and Gaia Gaja warns that there will be considerably less of it starting with the 2017 vintage. Production for this wine had always varied greatly to begin with, due in part to the fragile nature of the 80-year-old vines, but about half of those were removed and replanted. It will be a while before the new vines are old enough to go online. So, with some 10,000 bottles made in 2016 and 6,000 bottles in 2015, we can count on those numbers to be split by half over the next three to four years, for sure.
Rating: 96+
Wine Description
The Story
Costa means slope in Italian and is often used in the names of vineyard designated wines. In wine-growing parlance, it denotes the side of a hill that faces the sun. Russiwas the nickname of the previous estate owner, who oversaw the vineyard management of this historic and privileged growing site. This 10-acre vineyard which lies in the township of Barbaresco was purchased in the winery's 1967 expansion of its vineyard holdings. GAJA's Costa Russi is known for the elegance and refinement of its aromatic character and likes its single-vineyard counterparts, will age gracefully for 40 years of more in outstanding vintages.
Wine Information
Winemaker Notes/ Dark ruby/purple. Beautifully elegant aroma's of violets, red fruits, citrusy notes and spicy plum rise from the glass. The wine has a very clear fruit expression, opening on the palate with red orange, plum and a hint of licorice. The balance between aroma and flavor is striking. Costa Russi, of the three single-vineyards, seems to be the least structured, yet it has remarkable texture, mouth-filling fruit, monumental length and impresses with it's harmony and class. The tannins are firm but velvety, and the wines finishes with notes of dried roses and violets, classic Barbaresco characteristics best expressed in only the very top vintages.
