2019 Gaja Sito Moresco Rosso Langhe Piedmont 750 ml

Icon.

Iconoclast.

Gaja is one of the most remarkable producers in the world of wine—a true revolutionary who upended conventional wisdom in Piedmont and then became perhaps the most important winery in Italy.

Angelo Gaja’s vision for producing powerful wines with plush fruit—in contrast to the stark, tannic bottles of the time—launched the modern revolution in Barolo and Barbaresco. Back then, he was regarded as heretical, but like many geniuses, the world caught up to his thinking and his wines are now collector must-haves.

The Sito Moresco is his estate’s calling card. Composed of grapes from top sites in Barbaresco and Barolo, it’s a Super-Piedmontese blend that combines Nebbiolo and Barbera with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot—and it’s a perfect example of how Gaja’s outside-the-box thinking delivers prodigious quality.  

When Angelo Gaja took over his family’s business in Barbaresco in 1970, he upended conventional wisdom in Piedmont, borrowing techniques from Bordeaux and Burgundy to bring deeper fruit, silkier textures, darker colors, and a more youthful balance to what had historically been fairly rustic, hard wines.

At the time, his use of temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, smaller barrels for aging, and extra attentiveness in the vineyard were controversial. The results of that experimentation, however, made his winery an icon and paved the way for the modernization of the entire region.

Gaja’s decision to plant Cabernet and Chardonnay in prime Barbaresco vineyards was considered apostasy, but this wine wouldn’t be possible without that daringness and vision—it’s yet another bold call that paid off. Today, Sito Moresco is the perfect gateway to Gaja wines: the summation of Angelo’s vision with a price tag that makes it perfect for drinking, not just collecting.