1999 Conteisa
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Smoke, tobacco, licorice and sweet spices run through a core of red stone fruits in Gaja's 1999 Conteisa. Here the flavors are bright, focused and beautifully articulated. Expressive floral notes round out the finish. The 1999 is in a very pretty spot to drink now and over the next handful of years.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Medium ruby. Gaja's 1999 Conteisa, from the Cerequio cru in La Morra, is the most approachable of this set of wines. It offers a delicate, perfumed nose, along with notes of ripe red fruit, spices and sweet toasted oak with excellent length as well as balance and fine tannins. Here the softer La Morra fruit seems a bit dominated by the oak.
Full red. Crystal lized redcurrant and plum on the nose. Suave on entry, then rather closed in the middle palate, hinting only at licorice and menthol. But this powerfully structured Barolo builds impressively toward the back end. The tannins are substantial but not dry.
The 1999 Conteisa, from the Cerequio vineyard in La Morra, rivals the superb 1998 made here. Very ample in aroma, with abundant anisette, asphalt, and mocha, it is solid, deep, concentrated but very round, superior in length and continuity, and with all the famed polish of its cru. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-89000
About the producer
Gaja has been at the forefront of the Piedmont wine scene for many years and is Barbaresco’s most decorated producer. The winery has received a record number of Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri awards – the highest accolade from Italy’s leading wine publication.