Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo 2017

Sori San Lorenzo is one of Gaja's three named single vineyards, a south-facing slope in the heart of the Langhe in Piedmont. Sori is the local term for a steep, sunlit hillside, and that exposure ripens Nebbiolo fully while the calcareous marl soils, heavy in clay and limestone, hold the perfume and the firm acid-and-tannin frame the grape is known for. The fruit is harvested by hand with a strict selection, then aged in oak, which over an extended period softens Nebbiolo's grip and knits the tannins into a finer weave through slow oxygen exchange. The 2017 is pale garnet, already showing a little development at the rim. The nose unfolds in layers, with red cherry and darker plum, dried violet and rose, tar, leather and warm spice. The palate is full bodied and tightly structured, the tannins copious but fine and the acidity holding a long, savoury finish. This is a wine for the cellar that rewards air now. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted well ahead, in a large Burgundy glass. It belongs with serious red meat, game and truffle.