![Gaja "Costa Russi" Barbaresco D.O.C. 2016 (Piedmont, Italy) 750mL - [JD 98+] [VM 98] [WS 97] [JS 97] [WA 96+] [WE 95]](http://artisan.wine/cdn/shop/files/CR_DOP_NV-scaled_{width}x.jpg?v=1683849985)
Gaja "Costa Russi" Barbaresco D.O.C. 2016
(Piedmont, Italy) 750mL - [JD 98+] [VM 98] [WS 97] [JS 97] [WA 96+] [WE 95]
Regular price $925.00 Sale price $624.97 Save $300.03
6-PACK PRICE = $599.97 per item (add 6+ quantity to your basket)
About the Winery:
The Gaja family made history once again when it planted Sauvignon Blanc in the Barbaresco appellation in 1983. Today, the fruit for this mineral-driven expression of Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the original plantings in Barbaresco and newer vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba (in the Barolo appellation), roughly 7.5 acres in all. The name is based on two traditionally common elements in the Piedmontese landscape. Alteni are the classic, short white stone walls that were once typically used to cloister the vineyards of Piedmont. Brassica is the name of the beautiful yellow flowers that pepper the vineyards in the springtime. Combined, the name means the little walls of yellow springtime flowers.
About This Wine:
Costa means slope in Italian and is often used in the names of vineyard designated wines. In wine-growing parlance, it denotes the side of a hill that faces the sun. Russi was the nickname of the previous estate owner, who oversaw the vineyard management of this historic and privileged growing site. This 10-acre vineyard which lies in the township of Barbaresco was purchased in the winery's 1967 expansion of its vineyard holdings. GAJA's Costa Russi is known for the elegance and refinement of its aromatic character and likes its single-vineyard counterparts, will age gracefully for 40 years of more in outstanding vintages.
Wine Notes:
Dark ruby/purple. Beautifully elegant aroma's of violets, red fruits, citrusy notes and spicy plum rise from the glass. The wine has a very clear fruit expression, opening on the palate with red orange, plum and a hint of licorice. The balance between aroma and flavor is striking. Costa Russi, of the three single-vineyards, seems to be the least structured, yet it has remarkable texture, mouth-filling fruit, monumental length and impresses with it's harmony and class. The tannins are firm but velvety, and the wines finishes with notes of dried roses and violets, classic Barbaresco characteristics best expressed in only the very top vintages.
Ratings & Reviews
98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a more floral, sappy Barbaresco, offering textbook notes of black cherries, rose petals, sappy herbs, and violets. It's one of the more vibrant, juicy, and perfumed wines in the lineup and has medium to full body, bright yet integrated acidity, and the same incredibly polished yet certainly present tannins found in all these 2016s. This is another elegant 2016 that never puts a foot wrong." (11/5/2019)
98 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is ripe, creamy and enveloping, as it so often is, and yet also preserves the super classic sense of structure that runs through all these wines. Im 2016, Costa Russi has an extra touch of mid-palate sweetness that gives the wine its sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, rosewater, kirsch, mint and dried flowers meld together in the glass. Soft and sensual, with tons of allure, Costa Russi is another winner from Gaja. Time in the glass brings out the wine's density and tannins, both of which it has in spades." - Antonio Galloni (Nov 2019)
97 Points - Wine Spectator:
"This delicate red features floral, strawberry, cherry, currant and loamy earth aromas and flavors, showing terrific balance. A line of firm tannins adds support, and the finish is long and expansive. Best from 2023 through 2045. 175 cases imported." - BS (Apr 2020)
97 Points - James Suckling:
"Beautiful dried strawberries, flowers and cedar with hints of tar. Full body, round and rich tannins with lots of cedar, tar and tobacco, as well as a hint of chocolate powder. Lovely, long and caressing finish. Gorgeous again. Better after 2022." (Aug 2019)
96+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a very botanical wine in terms of its aromas, with lovely perfumes of rose, elderflower, sambuco and anise seed, along with a touch of glycerine. It then follows up with some sweetness that feels very embracing in this wine. This is the more ephemeral, delicate and floral member of the extended Barbaresco family from Gaja, with a crunchy tannic bite, but nothing too severe. There is a really good vitality and energy to this very expressive wine. Costa Russi remains the smallest of Gaja's single-vineyard wines, and Gaia Gaja warns that there will be considerably less of it starting with the 2017 vintage. Production for this wine had always varied greatly to begin with, due in part to the fragile nature of the 80-year-old vines, but about half of those were removed and replanted. It will be a while before the new vines are old enough to go online. So, with some 10,000 bottles made in 2016 and 6,000 bottles in 2015, we can count on those numbers to be split by half over the next three to four years, for sure." - Monica Larner (Aug 2019)
95 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Dark-skinned berry, coconut and balsamic aromas of eucalyptus shape the nose along with a whiff of rose petal. On the tense, youthfully austere palate, taut, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity support red cherry, cranberry, orange zest, brown pepper and a hint of tobacco. Give it time to fully develop. Drink 2024–2041." - Kerin O'Keefe (9/1/2020)
The Gaja family made history once again when it planted Sauvignon Blanc in the Barbaresco appellation in 1983. Today, the fruit for this mineral-driven expression of Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the original plantings in Barbaresco and newer vineyards in Serralunga d'Alba (in the Barolo appellation), roughly 7.5 acres in all. The name is based on two traditionally common elements in the Piedmontese landscape. Alteni are the classic, short white stone walls that were once typically used to cloister the vineyards of Piedmont. Brassica is the name of the beautiful yellow flowers that pepper the vineyards in the springtime. Combined, the name means the little walls of yellow springtime flowers.
About This Wine:
Costa means slope in Italian and is often used in the names of vineyard designated wines. In wine-growing parlance, it denotes the side of a hill that faces the sun. Russi was the nickname of the previous estate owner, who oversaw the vineyard management of this historic and privileged growing site. This 10-acre vineyard which lies in the township of Barbaresco was purchased in the winery's 1967 expansion of its vineyard holdings. GAJA's Costa Russi is known for the elegance and refinement of its aromatic character and likes its single-vineyard counterparts, will age gracefully for 40 years of more in outstanding vintages.
Wine Notes:
Dark ruby/purple. Beautifully elegant aroma's of violets, red fruits, citrusy notes and spicy plum rise from the glass. The wine has a very clear fruit expression, opening on the palate with red orange, plum and a hint of licorice. The balance between aroma and flavor is striking. Costa Russi, of the three single-vineyards, seems to be the least structured, yet it has remarkable texture, mouth-filling fruit, monumental length and impresses with it's harmony and class. The tannins are firm but velvety, and the wines finishes with notes of dried roses and violets, classic Barbaresco characteristics best expressed in only the very top vintages.
Ratings & Reviews
98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a more floral, sappy Barbaresco, offering textbook notes of black cherries, rose petals, sappy herbs, and violets. It's one of the more vibrant, juicy, and perfumed wines in the lineup and has medium to full body, bright yet integrated acidity, and the same incredibly polished yet certainly present tannins found in all these 2016s. This is another elegant 2016 that never puts a foot wrong." (11/5/2019)
98 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is ripe, creamy and enveloping, as it so often is, and yet also preserves the super classic sense of structure that runs through all these wines. Im 2016, Costa Russi has an extra touch of mid-palate sweetness that gives the wine its sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, rosewater, kirsch, mint and dried flowers meld together in the glass. Soft and sensual, with tons of allure, Costa Russi is another winner from Gaja. Time in the glass brings out the wine's density and tannins, both of which it has in spades." - Antonio Galloni (Nov 2019)
97 Points - Wine Spectator:
"This delicate red features floral, strawberry, cherry, currant and loamy earth aromas and flavors, showing terrific balance. A line of firm tannins adds support, and the finish is long and expansive. Best from 2023 through 2045. 175 cases imported." - BS (Apr 2020)
97 Points - James Suckling:
"Beautiful dried strawberries, flowers and cedar with hints of tar. Full body, round and rich tannins with lots of cedar, tar and tobacco, as well as a hint of chocolate powder. Lovely, long and caressing finish. Gorgeous again. Better after 2022." (Aug 2019)
96+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a very botanical wine in terms of its aromas, with lovely perfumes of rose, elderflower, sambuco and anise seed, along with a touch of glycerine. It then follows up with some sweetness that feels very embracing in this wine. This is the more ephemeral, delicate and floral member of the extended Barbaresco family from Gaja, with a crunchy tannic bite, but nothing too severe. There is a really good vitality and energy to this very expressive wine. Costa Russi remains the smallest of Gaja's single-vineyard wines, and Gaia Gaja warns that there will be considerably less of it starting with the 2017 vintage. Production for this wine had always varied greatly to begin with, due in part to the fragile nature of the 80-year-old vines, but about half of those were removed and replanted. It will be a while before the new vines are old enough to go online. So, with some 10,000 bottles made in 2016 and 6,000 bottles in 2015, we can count on those numbers to be split by half over the next three to four years, for sure." - Monica Larner (Aug 2019)
95 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Dark-skinned berry, coconut and balsamic aromas of eucalyptus shape the nose along with a whiff of rose petal. On the tense, youthfully austere palate, taut, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity support red cherry, cranberry, orange zest, brown pepper and a hint of tobacco. Give it time to fully develop. Drink 2024–2041." - Kerin O'Keefe (9/1/2020)