2020 Gaja Conteisa Barolo

Highly Rated
A quiet powerhouse from one of Barolo’s great vineyards, showing the poise, refinement, and site fidelity that defines modern Gaja.

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Sale price$1,195.00
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Description

"Angelo Gaja is, without question, the most famous wine producer in Italy. Possibly one of the most famous in the world. He is credited with developing techniques that revolutionised winemaking in Italy.
- International Wine Challenge

Conteisa takes its name from a centuries-old land dispute between Barolo and La Morra - fitting for a wine that embodies the tension and beauty of both places. The fruit comes from the hallowed Cerequio cru, one of La Morra’s finest vineyards, known for its elegance and aromatic lift. First produced in 1996, Conteisa sits alongside Sperss as one of Gaja’s flagship Barolos, and it’s grown into something truly distinctive.

The 2020 vintage feels like a shift in tone - less about sheer power, more about detail and precision. This is a wine that doesn’t rush to impress. There’s structure, but it’s laced with silk; fruit, but framed in minerality and spice. Gaja ferments each parcel separately before blending and aging across both French and Slavonian oak, allowing each site to speak for itself before they’re brought into harmony.

Drink it young if you must, but the best stories unfold slowly.

98 points
"Open, vivid and polished with sweet tannins and juicy energy. Medium- to full-bodied with a savory, irresistible finish. Better after 2026."
- JamesSuckling.com

97 points
"Sensual, silky and impeccably balanced. Crushed rocks, red fruit and floral lift define this stunningly graceful Barolo. Conteisa is no longer the underdog."
- Antonio Galloni (Vinous.com, October 2024)

97 points
"Strawberry preserve, balsamic herbs, sweet tobacco and candied flowers. Resinous, ripe, and long with structure to age two decades."
- Audrey Frick (JebDunnuck.com, May 2024)

97 points
"Crushed raspberry, red cherry and baking spice wrapped in silky tannins. Balanced, smooth and accessible with years of life ahead. Drink 2025–2035."
- Kerin O'Keefe (KerinOkeefe.com, April 2024)

97 points
"Subdued elegance and finesse from the Cerequio MGA. Wild cherry, mint, violet and dusty limestone, with especially fine tannins. Classic Nebbiolo profile."
- Monica Larner (The Wine Advocate)

98 points - "This is a really enticing wine with an open and vivid nature that tells you right away it is Barolo, but it’s polished and sweetly tannic. You want to taste and taste. It’s medium- to full-bodied with rounded tannins and a savory finish. Juicy and so approachable now. Better in a couple of years, but hard to resist now. Try after 2026." - JamesSuckling.com

97 points - "The 2020 Barolo Conteisa is fabulous. Once again, Conteisa makes a very strong case for itself as the most improved wine at Gaja. Sensual, silky tannins and lifted aromatics capture the pinnacle of finesse. Medium in body, gracious and impeccable in its balance, Conteisa is stunning in its beauty. In the past, I had always considered Conteisa the lesser of the Gaja Barolos, but that is no longer the case. Drinking Window: 2026–2038." - Antonio Galloni (Vinous.com, October 2024)

97 points - "The Serralunga power comes through in the 2020 Barolo Conteisa. Boasting a jeweled, shimmering ruby color, it’s ripe and expressive with pristine notes of strawberry preserve, balsamic herbs, candied flowers, and sweet tobacco. It offers a lot of ripe sapidity on the palate, with a resinous quality, a touch of warmth, a rounded feel, and great length. It’s fairly approachable now, but it’s going to have the structure to last over the long haul, 20 years or so." - Audrey Frick (JebDunnuck.com, May 2024)

97 points - "The gorgeous 2020 Gaja Barolo Conteisa is smooth and silky, delivering delicious fruit flavors of crushed raspberry, red cherry and baking spice. Silky tannins provide seamless support while fresh acidity keeps it well balanced. It’s already accessible but will provide years of fine sipping. Drink 2025 through 2035. Abv: 14%" - Kerin O'Keefe (KerinOkeefe.com, April 2024)

97 points - "The Gaja 2020 Barolo Conteisa offers subdued and unexpected elegance with great finesse and detailing. You might expect more concentration and power from this hot vintage; however, it instead reveals complexity over a lower overall intensity threshold. 'The 2020 vintage offers a classic Nebbiolo profile,' says Giovanni Gaja. He compares 2020 to upcoming vintages, describing 2021 as a vintage of power and 2022 as a vintage of concentration. The Conteisa with fruit from the Cerequio MGA shows a dark ruby hue with vibrant notes of wild cherry, crushed mint, dusty limestone and pressed violets. The tannins are especially elegant and fine." - Monica Larner (The Wine Advocate)

95 points - "Good full red. Potpourri, violet, menthol and red berries on the nose. Enters rich and dense, with ripely sweet red fruit and complicating hints of citronella and lemon verbena. Normally more balsamic than the Sperss Barolo from Gaja, this is very lifted and very La Morra. And I’d say, also very Cerequio. Drinking window: 2030–2040." - Ian D’Agata (iandagatawine.com, October 2024)

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Nebbiolo
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Reviewed By The Wine Advocate
James Suckling
Vinous
Critic Score 97
95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2020
Closure Cork

Gaja

The Gaja family has been producing wine in the hills of Barbaresco, Piedmont since 1859. But it was under the leadership of Angelo Gaja from the 1960s that the estate rose to global prominence, redefining what Italian fine wine could be. Today, his children - Gaia, Rossana, and Giovanni - are guiding the next chapter of the family legacy.

Gaja’s wines are a benchmark of modern Italian winemaking - bold, polished, and built for the long haul. Single-vineyard bottlings like Sorì Tildìn and Costa Russi broke new ground for Barbaresco, while plantings of Cabernet and Chardonnay challenged tradition and put Langhe on the world stage.

Beyond Barbaresco, the family now crafts celebrated wines from Bolgheri and Montalcino, and most recently, from the volcanic slopes of Etna under the IDDA label - a joint project with Alberto Graci that’s turning heads for its purity and poise. Wherever they go, Gaja remains a symbol of innovation, ambition, and Italian excellence.

The Gaja family Gaja

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