Gaja's 2014 Barolo Conteisa is a jewel of a wine. Translucent, energetic and vibrant, it offers striking precision, with lovely salinity and bright acids that lift the red berry flavors. Conteisa is always a wine that leans toward the more delicate side of things. In 2014, all of those signatures are brought out by the personality of the year. This is one of the best recent Conteisas I can remember tasting, as well as a wine that feels natural and unforced.

The 2014 Barolo Conteisa is an impressive wine that defies the odds of the vintage. Although the Cerequio vineyard did not suffer hail in 2014 (it did in 2016), grape production was reduced by half anyway. The remaining grapes delivered their best with intense flavors and crisp contours. Gaia Gaja tells me that the clusters harvested were perfect in appearance. This is a perfumed wine that offers defined aromas of wild cherry that rise to the top with intensity. The wine's tonality is dark and thick, and the tannins are full and structured.

Cask sample. Youthful mid ruby. Holding back on the nose, with hints of raspberry and a fine oak note. Fragrant yet compact and very youthful and tight. Very elegant and fine. Not enormously powerfully fruity but with a firm tannic structure. Truly precise. (WS)