Costa Russi
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 10 to 30 years from the vintage, though its exceptionally refined tannins make it more approachable in its youth than other single-vineyard Barbarescos.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Slow-cooked beef braised in red wine, roasted wild game birds, and rich pasta dishes featuring fresh white truffles or wild mushrooms.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Gaja's Costa Russi is a legendary single-vineyard expression from the heart of Barbaresco, Piedmont. The name 'Costa' refers to the sun-drenched slope of the hill, while 'Russi' honors the vineyard's former owner, Filippo Russi. Acquired by the Gaja family in 1967, this site is renowned for producing the most delicate, perfumed, and approachable of Gaja's single-vineyard bottlings. Cultivated on clay-limestone soils with a warm southern exposure, the Nebbiolo grapes yield a wine of exceptional elegance. For a period starting in 1996, Angelo Gaja famously declassified this wine to Langhe DOC to allow the blending of a small percentage of Barbera, aiming to balance acidity, before returning it to its historic 100% Nebbiolo Barbaresco DOCG status with the 2013 vintage. The wine undergoes meticulous aging, spending a year in French barriques followed by another year in traditional large oak casks, resulting in a complex bouquet of wild berries, violets, and subtle spice.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 1859 by Giovanni Gaja in the village of Barbaresco, Piedmont, Gaja is one of the world's most legendary wine estates, celebrated for revolutionizing Italian viticulture. Under the visionary leadership of Angelo Gaja, who joined the family business in 1961, the winery pioneered modern techniques in the Langhe, including green harvesting, temperature-controlled fermentations, and aging in French barriques. Gaja is globally renowned for its iconic single-vineyard Nebbiolo bottlings, such as Sor'i San Lorenzo, Costa Russi, and Sperss, alongside pioneering white wines like Gaia & Rey. The family has since expanded its uncompromising pursuit of quality to Tuscany, producing acclaimed Brunello di Montalcino at Pieve Santa Restituta and Bolgheri blends at Ca' Marcanda.