The 2014 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is the most virile and explosive of Gaja's Barbarescos. Dark, brooding and powerful, with a huge spine of tannin, the San Lorenzo is utterly regal in the glass. Gravel, smoke, menthol, tar, licorice and a host of sepia-toned fruits build into a crescendo of aromas and flavors that is truly compelling. What a gorgeous wine this is.

This is closed at first – indeed it's just a baby – but soon opens up with some air to display wild strawberries, red cherries, cedar and nutmeg. The palate is full but very tight and refined, showing firm, grippy tannins that need time, driven acidity and a long, minerally finish. Better in 2020.

The 2014 Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo is certainly one of more structured, masculine 2014s. From more limestone soils and a slightly cooler, south facing hillside, it offers a deeper ruby color to go with beautiful notes of black cherries, currants, wood smoke, white flowers, and an undeniable minerality. Like all the 2014s, it’s incredibly elegant on the palate, with a Burgundian-like texture, fine tannin, and terrific length. As with the Sori Tildin, it unwinds with time in the glass, yet needs 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to cruise in the cellar for 20-25+ years.

Gaja's 2014 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is clearly at the beginning of a long and promising aging trajectory. At it's core, it shows a pinch of nervous energy and inner tightness that will surely unravel and soften as this beautiful wine continues along its magical journey in time. Angelo Gaja and his family present spectacular results in this controversial 2014 vintage. They have risen far above most of their peers and have shown a keen ability to understand their site and the versatility of their cherished Nebbiolo grape. The variety sings with a loud and exuberant voice, first offering plenty of primary fruit like blackberry and dried cherry. It then follows up with savory earth and spice. This is a bright and youthful wine that is set steady for a long aging future.

Refined scents, with the wood playing a slightly more prominent role here than in the other wines, but with plenty of fruited aromatic upholstery to support it. On the palate, this is the only wine of the quartet where the red fruits begin to shade into black in this vintage – though they retain a chic briskness, with ample energy and lift. Spice, incense and refined, chiselled, palpable tannins complete the picture.
Tasted by: Andrew Jefford

Earthy notes lead off, followed by cherry, plum, graphite and tobacco flavors. Starts out broad and muscular, with a thick layer of tannins for support, yet gains elegance with aeration. A tad austere on the finish, but stays vibrant and long. Best from 2021 through 2036. 170 cases imported. WS

Although lush and smoky on the nose, this is more gawky on the palate and probably needs time to settle down. It initially seems medium-bodied and almost ethereal, but then firm tannins kick in for a grippy mid-palate. Austere now, this lacks charm and even some freshness, but is likely to harmonise after another year in bottle.