Vinous (97)

Sweet rose petal, mint, chiseled red-toned fruit and chalk give the 2014 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn its sculpted, brilliant personality. All the elements are in the right place. A wine of translucent energy and weightless elegance, the Sorì Tildìn is hauntingly beautiful today. A host of floral notes and red berry fruit infuse the persistent, chiseled finish in this fabulous Barbaresco. As it so often is, the Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a wine of pure charm and seduction.

James Suckling (99)

Aromas of asphalt and tar that turn to dried strawberries, plums and citrus fruit. Full body, yet agile and very refined with a beautiful balance of fruit, tannins and acidity. Extremely persistent and focused finish. All about harmony and strength. Drink in 2022.

Vinous (100)

The 2016 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a fabulous, incredibly complete wine that soars out of the glass with explosive structure and vertical lift. The tannins are very much present, but also matched beautifully by the wine's aromatic intensity and overall drive. Dark macerated cherry, spice, leather, licorice, plum and mocha add darker shades of nuance. In 2016, Sorì Tildìn is a bit more brooding and bigger than it often is, and yet all the elements are impeccably balanced. It is quite simply a majestic wine of real grandeur and total class, but it is not obvious. Sorì Tildìn will appeal most to readers who understand what the truest essence of Nebbiolo is all about. In a word: magnificent!

James Suckling (98)

Extremely perfumed with strawberries, flowers, cherries and hints of ash and tar. Medium to full-bodied with tightness and raciness to the tannins. Polished, too. Very, very persistent. Try after 2022.

James Suckling (98)

Extremely perfumed with strawberries, flowers, cherries and hints of ash and tar. Medium to full-bodied with tightness and raciness to the tannins. Polished, too. Very, very persistent. Try after 2022.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

A spiced profile emerges from the 2021 Barbaresco Sori Tildin, which has a bright red color and offers notes of ripe black cherries, graphite, wet stones, and darker minerals. There’s more power and backbone in this wine, as well as more depth and structure. It’s remarkably focused, with ripe tannins, fantastic purity and balance, and ripe mineral undercurrents. These 2021s are some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted from Gaja, and this one has great potential for the long haul.

Wine Spectator (94)

Power and charm combine in this exotic, black-colored, beautifully perfumed, balanced Barolo. Sure, it's a barrique-boosted Nebbiolo, but look at the exquisite result: sweet tannins, full body, exciting violet, blackberry, mint, smoke and tar notes, and a rock-solid but harmonious finish. Best from 2003 through 2010. 2,800 cases made. -PM

Wine Spectator (94)

Power and charm combine in this exotic, black-colored, beautifully perfumed, balanced Barolo. Sure, it's a barrique-boosted Nebbiolo, but look at the exquisite result: sweet tannins, full body, exciting violet, blackberry, mint, smoke and tar notes, and a rock-solid but harmonious finish. Best from 2003 through 2010. 2,800 cases made. -PM

Wine Spectator (95)

Blueberry and ripe raspberry aromas, with hints of fresh flowers, follow through to a full body, with extra-refined yet powerful tannins and a long, long finish. Polished and well-crafted. Best after 2014. 1,500 cases made. -JS

Vinous (96-98)

Good full, deep red. Compelling perfume of musky strawberry, wild game, smoky minerality and underbrush. Broad and sweet, but with outstanding definition and a magically light touch to its fruit, mineral and spice flavors. Wonderfully brisk, complete wine with an explosive back end featuring great tannic structure and outstanding aromatic lift. I wouldn't call this powerful wine fat or silky, but it's utterly seamless and incredibly suave. Should be a cellar classic.

Vinous (96+)

Good deep red. Knockout, almost liqueur-like nose combines plum, redcurrant, red licorice, marzipan, menthol, tobacco and loamy earth. Large-scaled, broad and deep, with its powerful sweetness leavened by strong minerality and a distinct medicinal reserve. As concentrated as a solid. The slowly building finish shows inexorable length, saturating the palate with salty minerality. I'd bet on this one for the long haul.

Vinous (96-97)

Very good deep red. Multidimensional aromas of raspberry, flowers, mocha, menthol, orange peel, licorice and underbrush, plus a whiff of petrol that reminded me of riesling. Densely packed and powerful but without any undue weight, showing terrific finesse and mouthfilling breadth to its flavors of red fruits, menthol and minerals. Superb inner-mouth tension here. Has the strength of fruit to support the powerful tannins on the unflagging finish. This should gain in complexity in bottle for two or three decades.

Wine Advocate (95)

With fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, the 2011 Langhe Sperss is a wine of profound beauty. This is a velvety and caressing expression with dark fruit layers followed by kirsch, cassis, leather, balsam herb and white truffle. The Gaja family decided to move their bottling date forward in order to preserve the integrity and freshness of fruit in this warm vintage. This move has helped to avoid overripe sensations. In fact, Langhe Sperss seems fresh and tonic. This bodes exceptionally well for its aging potential.

Wine Advocate (94)

This is a slightly more subdued vintage of this legendary wine, albeit just as sophisticated as past editions. The 2014 Barolo Sperss opens to gorgeous aromas of dark fruit, wet earth and white truffle. The vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba produced much less fruit than average and suffered from bouts of downy mildew during the rainy seasons. But Serralunga d'Alba fruit is also harvested late, and that extra time was important for achieving grape ripeness targets. The wine presents depth and complexity within the context of a thinner vintage. Having said that, the bouquet is spectacular.

Vinous (98)

The 2015 Barolo Sperss shows all of the darkness and muscle that are so typical of Serralunga. Black cherry, plum, licorice, incense, gravel, cured meats and scorched earth infuse this potent, backward wine with tremendous character. My impression is that the extraction and oak are all a bit more pushed here relative to the other wines in the range.

Wine Advocate (100)

The golden touch, that proverbial Gaja magic, is taken to a whole new level in the 2016 Barolo Sperss. Angelo Gaja has taught his children to follow their own path, and now that the generational switch is well underway at the family estate, we can see that Gaia, Rossana and Giovanni have done him proud. Very proud. This stunning expression from the 2016 vintage (with 16,000 bottles released) represents quite a few celebratory milestones. We are now in the fifth generation to protect the Gaja legacy in an unbroken family chain that has endured since 1859. This wine is 100% Nebbiolo, and since the 2013 vintage, it is part of the Barolo DOCG appellation. Winemaking has been tweaked to embrace a more elegant, ethereal and streamlined personality, instead of the bigger extraction we saw in the past. This upgraded identity is distinctly evident in this newest release of Sperss. Starting with appearance, the wine is luminous and bright with shiny ruby and garnet gemstone. Its aromatic reach is three-dimensional with width, height and depth. Delicate berry tones cede to pressed lilac, anise, sandalwood and cardamom spice. I double decanted and left the bottle open for a few hours before my tasting. The results are tight and gentle, and the wine shows beautiful vertical lift and intensity. To achieve this much power without the excess fruit weight is really quite an accomplishment. This is the magic of Nebbiolo, and the magic of Gaja.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

From the estate’s property in Serralunga d’Alba, the 2017 Barolo Sperss is fresh with pine, perfectly ripe cherry, leather, and aniseed. It has classic Serralunga structure without being imposing, with ripe up-front fruit of dried raspberry as well as tea leaf, and refreshing acidity on the finish. It is layered with depth, but is remarkably drinkable now. This is a beautiful wine to finish out the Gaja lineup. Drink 2022-2042.