1988 Gaja Barbaresco
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Tasting notes
Increasing brick at the rim though the colour is quite dense and smudgy throughout. Intense notes of black olive and cooked tomato and the sweetness of meat long cooked. Fine and dry and yet still has a real uprightness of structure. With time it just becomes more perfumed and again that tea aroma comes back. Quite a bit of grip in the tannin and acid at the end but its long. Less elegant on the finish than 1994. Later: develops aromas of sweet dark toffee. (JH)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1988 Barbaresco offers the classic nose of dried cherries, herbs, cedar, and toasty oak. In the mouth, it is medium to full-bodied, with considerable tannic clout. The long finish is dominated by the wine's tannins. It should benefit from 3-4 years of cellaring and keep for 10-15. All of Gaja's 1988 Barbarescos are backward, reserved wines. Even after sitting four days with the corks pulled they exhibited no signs of oxidation. While they should be uncommonly long-lived, I did not see quite the flesh and richness possessed by such vintages as 1985 and 1982. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY.
The 1988 Barbaresco offers the classic nose of dried cherries, herbs, cedar, and toasty oak. In the mouth, it is medium to full-bodied, with considerable tannic clout. The long finish is dominated by the wine's tannins. It should benefit from 3-4 years of cellaring and keep for 10-15. All of Gaja's 1988 Barbarescos are backward, reserved wines. Even after sitting four days with the corks pulled they exhibited no signs of oxidation. While they should be uncommonly long-lived, I did not see quite the flesh and richness possessed by such vintages as 1985 and 1982. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY. Aug 1992, www.robertparker.com
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.