Gaja Barbaresco appellation, single vineyard, sori san lorenzo
Credit: Timc Inc / Decanter
(Image credit: Timc Inc / Decanter)

Gaia Gaja, daughter of renowned winemaker Angelo Gaja, said she and her siblings, Rossana and Giovanni, have chosen to take the three red wines back under the Barbaresco appellation umbrella.

The wines, Costa Russi, Sorì Tildin and Sorì San Lorenzo, will be labelled as appellation Barbaresco DOP – equivalent to DOCG under new EU rules – from the 2013 vintage release.

Since the 1996 vintage, the wines have used the ‘Langhe’ denomination, after Angelo Gaja decided that they would benefit from up to 15% of Barbera grapes in the final blend.

‘Every generation has its own path to follow and has the right to do things in its own way,’ Gaia Gaja told Decanter.com.

‘Above all [with this decision], we want to pursue the pure expression of the Nebbiolo variety,’ she said.

It was not a decision taken against her father’s will, she added. ‘It’s a decision we long thought about and to which we’ve come thanks also to the support of our father [Angelo Gaja].’

Gaia Gaja said her father originally detached the wines from the Barbaresco appellation in order to produce them as they were before 1966, when the Barbaresco DOC appellation was born and included the 100% Nebbiolo rule.

Barbaresco did not get DOCG status – the highest level of Italy’s appellation system – until 1980.

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.