GAJA - Sito Moresco Assemblage 2019
Gaja is located in Barbaresco, in the Piemonte of Italy. The business was founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja with just 2 hectares of vineyards in Barbaresco. Each generation saw expansion, although Angelo Gaja, who took over full-time in 1970, is often credited with the estate's more recent success. He was responsible for overseeing sweeping changes in the vineyards and cellars, and introducing the famed single-vineyard Barbaresco wines. Gaja's move beyond Barbaresco started in 1988 with the acquisition of the Sperss vineyard in neighbouring Barolo. In 1994, Gaja took over the 27 hectares Pieve Santa Restituta estate in Montalcino, followed by the 118 hectares Ca' Marcanda estate in Bolgheri, Tuscany. Gaja is famous for having modernised Piemonte, introducing international grape varieties and winemaking practices more common in Bordeaux or California. The estate generated a lot of attention when it began to blend a small amount of Barbera into all but two of its Barbaresco and Barolo wines, relegating them to the Langhe DOC classification.
Sito Moresco is a blend of Nebbiolo (35%), Merlot (35%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (35%). The grapes come from several estate-owned vineyards, including the 10-hectare Sito Moresco vineyard in Barbaresco. The wine is aged 18 months in barriques, and is left for a further 6-months ageing in the bottle before its release.
Grape varieties: 35% Nebbiolo, 35% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon