2015 Gaja Gaia & Rey Langhe Chardonnay DOP, Piedmont

From a hot vintage, the 2015 Langhe Gaia & Rey shows similar excellence as presented in the 2013 vintage, although its attributes are different. That wine was direct and linear reflecting the cooler summer months. This wine, however, promises to be more tonic, sharp and focused despite the warmer growing season. This pure expression of Chardonnay is made in a more reductive style in order to highlight that nervous and bright vein at the back. The winery is switching over to older barrique (some as old as a decade) and botte grande to allow for less oxygen in winemaking. The wine opens to aromas of Golden Delicious apple, white peach, wild sage, ginger and honey. This white wine shows enormous potential for further aromatic development and intensity.