4th March 2008

Jebsen Fine Wines had organized a special tasting held at the newly opened Ritz Carlton Hotel in Beijing’s Chaoyang District - the second Ritz Carlton in the city, in fact, the other being on Financial Street - of the wines of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, the great Tuscan producer based in Bolgheri and responsible for the legendary Ornellaia.

On tasting were:

2005 Le Volte, Toscana IGT

Appearance: medium red-purple, slight orange rim.

Nose: bright red cherry fruit, possible unoaked (on first nose). Certainly no evidence of new oak treatment.

Palate: nice acidity here, soft red fruits, low-medium silky tannins. Nice length.

Conclusion: this wine is a blend of Sangiovese 50%, Merlot 30% and Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, vinified separately with the blended wine then being aged in 2-4 year old barrels for some 10 months. In other words, not much oak flavour is imparted, if any, as desired. We expected a bit more structure to come through from the Cabernet Sauvignon, but it’s clearly well-made. Drink now or over the next couple of years. Retail RMB255.

Rating: 16/20

2002 Le Serre Nuove Bolgheri DOC

Appearance: medium purple with red tints, slight orange rim.

Nose: bright red and black fruits, noticeable oak, savoury and relatively complex for the vintage.
Palate: nice acidity again here (as you’d expect), angular medium-high chewy tannins, but only medium-bodied throughout. Nice length too.

Conclusion: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, this wine’s malolactic fermentation began in stainless steel but was finished in barrique (25% new oak, the remaining 75% in once-used barrels). It was then aged in barrique for some 18 months. It’s impressive they were able to produce such a nice wine in the rain-prone 2002 vintage, a bit of a wash-out in Tuscany. Strict selection would have had to be necessary. We preferred this to the Le Volte 2005, however. Jebsen currently offers other vintages of the Le Serre Nuove (2004 and 2005) for RMB616 and RMB633. We’d hope the 2002 is cheaper, if they still have it.

Rating: 17/20

2005 Ornellaia (1985-2005 anniversary bottle)

Appearance: dark purple-red.

Nose: very elegant nose of myriad red and black fruits, toasty oak prevalent at present as well.

Palate: medium-high chunky tannins, lovely acidity, complex fruits gradually revealing themselves. Long.

Conclusion: this must be a special blend for the occasion, as we couldn’t find anything on the Ornellaia website about the constituents or vinification of the 2005. This wine has some of the restraint and elegance of fine Pomerol or other Right Bank Bordeaux, but with more vibrant acidity. Will age for many years, but is approachable now. Retail RMB1915.

Rating: 18/20 [but should get better]

1995 Ornellaia

Appearance: medium red, marked orange rim.

Nose: fading red and black fruits, leaves, decaying oak and other complex savoury smells (mushrooms etc.).

Palate: complex palate which is more youthful than the nose suggests, lovely acidity and great length. Tannins have precipitated out and it’s very smooth and very appealing!

Conclusion: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, this wine was aged for about 16 months in French oak barriques (39% new, 61% once-used), bottled without filtration and matured a further 14 months before release. It’s clearly fine wine and drinking well now. We cannot put a retail price on this wine for the Chinese market, however. The cheapest we’ve seen it on Wine Searcher is around £55 (UK pounds) or $100 (USD). It is likely to be much more expensive in China, if it is available at all.

Rating: 18.5/20

Labels: 1995, 2002, 2005, Bolgheri, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Featured Tastings, Italy, Jebsen, Le Serre Nuove, Le Volte, Merlot, Ornellaia, red, Sangiovese, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Tuscany

Gaia Gaja of famed Piemonte producer Angelo Gaja came to Beijing for a book-signing (at the Hilton Food & Wine Experience) and a special dinner arranged with importer ASC. She kindly consented to an email interview arranged around her busy schedule. Dragon Phoenix (hereafter DP) is very grateful to Gaia Gaja (hereafter GG) for her time and effort. With luck, she will be back in China in 2008.

DP: You recently visited Beijing to show-case your wines. What is your perception of the market for fine wines in China?

GG: The Chinese market is certainly one of the future, as China is a factor in all things: because of its growth and the increasing acquisition of wealth. Fine wine will undoubtedly be part of this expansion.

DP: How would you say Piemonte wines specifically are appreciated in China? Or is it too early for the market to understand the complexity of the Piemonte region?

GG: I believe our wines are accepted equally in China; just as all other fine wines in the world are. Their complexity is an added value which, with time, will be more and more appreciated.

DP: Your company has a number of business interests: including Gaja distribution, the Castello di Barbaresco as well as wine estates not just in Piemonte but also in Tuscany. How would you say your business experience has helped in establishing new markets for your wines in China and Asia as a whole?

GG: My mother has a little distribution company importing foreign wines to Italy (this is a business that concerns Italy alone). As to the Castello di Barbaresco, you are talking about the castle of Barbaresco which we bought in 1995 and restored. We were thinking of transforming it into a hotel but, in the end, we decided to keep it for the winery – so now there are offices and tasting rooms. So, we just make wine really. This is the only thing we know how to do and we will continue doing it just so.

We produce wine in Piemonte, in Montacino and in Bolgheri, as you know. The three wineries are working with different varieties: Nebbiolo, Sangiovese (in Montalcino), Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (in Bolgheri). The three regions – what we call the ‘3 Bs’ of Italy, Barbaresco (and Barolo), Brunello and Bolgheri – are, in my opinion, the most prestigious in Italy. They provide the opportunity and real possibility of making long-ageing and complex wines. So, we have the same goal for the three wineries and the same style, but different expressions. The Chinese market can see the distinctive differences between these three wine regions with the distinctive Gaja flare in each case.

DP: Your family’s wine-making roots in Barbaresco date back to 1859 and Giovanni Gaja’s establishment of the winery. You have embraced both tradition and modern technology in your wine-making. How would you describe your company’s philosophy and outlook?

GG: My wines are easy recognizable in blind-tastings because they have a defined style that is obviously the style of our Barbaresco winery. The goal is to produce wines loyal to the area, and loyal to the history of the winery itself. To preserve their identity and dignity, we release them only in vintages when the weather conditions have allowed them to express all their beauties and to illustrate what Nebbiolo in Barbaresco can do.

The wines are, therefore, not produced every year. For example, our Piemonte winery did not produce any wine in 2002,1992,1984,1980 and 1972. The single vineyard wines (Costa Russi, Sori San Lorenzo, Sori Tildin, Sperss, Conteisa) were not even produced in 1994,1992 and in many other older vintages. Pieve Santa Restituta did not produce any wine in 2002 and in 2003; and Camarcanda was not produced in 2002 either.

To work like artisans, following every detail from the beginning to the end: this is our philosophy. We do not buy in grapes but only use what we produce from our estate vineyards which have been selected over several generations. We also personally select the wood for part of the barriques we use, and we are working on several other details in the winery too.

DP: Piemonte wines are very food-friendly. Do you believe your wines will pair well with different Chinese cuisines?

GG: I don’t know enough about Chinese food, but I had the pleasure to pair several of our wines with different Shanghai-ese dishes (which were more oily and generally sweeter to the taste than some of the other Chinese regional cuisines I’ve heard of). They paired extremely well.

DP: Angelo Gaja was the first wine-maker to use French barriques and introduce international grape varieties to the Langhe. How would you describe the difference between your ‘international’ wines and your Barbaresco DOCG or is there no difference in your wine-making philosophy for these wines?

GG: Even the international varieties that my father introduced and started to produce in Barbaresco (Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay) are producing wines (Darmagi, Alteni di Brassica and Gaia & Rey) that are very Piedmontese in their personality. The grape varieties are a vehicle to express the flavours of the place where they are grown. Piemonte wines reflect minerality, earthiness, and can have fabulous ageing potential where the aromas develop exquisitely. All of these characteristics are expressed in the Darmagi, Gaia & Rey and Alteni di Brassica wines.

DP: Some of your top Barbaresco wines – Sori Tildin, San Lorenzo, Costa Russi – and the Barolos, Sperss and Conteisa, are ‘de-classified’ to Langhe Nebbiolo DOC because this allows you to add up to 15% of other grapes. Do you find that blending helps tame some of the more difficult aspects of Nebbiolo, e.g. its sometimes harsh tannins? Or is there another reason for blending?

GG: My winery has produced Barbaresco since 1859. And this is why Barbaresco is the most representative wine from our winery. The single vineyard concept was introduced in the late 1960s (in 1967 we produced the first single vineyard Barbaresco: Sori San Lorenzo). Clearly, Gaja became well-known through this Barbaresco, the only wine of the winery for generations; and the reason behind the re-classification of the single vineyards was to go back to Barbaresco as the only Barbaresco of the winery.

When we changed the denomination for the single vineyards, we discovered the advantage of being able to add, if we wanted, other varieties. The variety we are most interested in adding (and from 1997 did so) is Barbera: a local variety with very good acidity, excellent fruit and not too much tannin. In warm vintages Barbera is useful because it gives the wine a certain drinkability whilst also aiding ageing-potential. It works very well with Nebbiolo.

DP: Do you think it is easier for consumers to understand international grapes – for example, you make straight a straight Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc – than the complexities of Italy’s DOC and DOCG system? Or is the Piemonte region itself of more importance to you and your customers?

GG: I think that one important reason why the international varieties are more understandable is that they are more well-known than the DOCs or DOCGs. So people are more used to drinking them and knowing what to expect from them. These varieties are like an international language that everyone can, on some level, speak and understand.

In Italy we have such a large selection of local varieties, all produced in such tiny quantities and areas, that it becomes very difficult to know them well. They are very much niche products. The international varieties give the chance to wine lovers to compare the results of certain grapes coming from different wineries and from different parts of the world.

DP: Nicholas Belfrage MW has written about your pricing policy, observing that this ‘seems to be paying off handsomely, with international buyers willing to spend any sum for a top name’ (Barolo to Valpolicella: The Wines of Northern Italy, p. 86). Belfrage does not dispute the very high quality of your wines, but wonders about global prices in the fine wine market. Do you think that buyers will continue to pay ‘any sum’ for top wines?

GG: The markets are undeniably growing and the new increasing demand cannot be absorbed by the offer of certain wines alone (as some wines cannot be produced in sufficient quantities to meet the demand). At the same time the production of wine is growing all over the world as well as the quality level (more countries are producing wines of better quality). So, for sure, in the case of certain top wines the prices will inevitably continue to grow. Fortunately, though, there will also be a good offer of wines at more moderate prices.

DP: In China, wine education should improve the market for fine wines as consumers become more confident in purchasing. How do you hope to support the appreciation of your wines in the Chinese market(s)?

GG: I like to explain my wines personally (and be there to explain them in person). I like to meet the people that drink and talk about my wines; and to hear their questions. This is one of the pleasures of my work. I will continue to come to China, maybe more often than I have in the past, and continue to explain what my wines mean to me to the people I will have the pleasure to meet. This is central to my life and work.

Labels: Angelo Gaja, ASC, Barolo, Bolgheri, Brunello di Montalcino, Cabernet Sauvignon, China, Gaia Gaja, Interviews, Italy, Langhe, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Nicholas Belfrage, Piemonte, red, white