The 2007 Langhe Sori San Lorenzo is perhaps the most massive, virile wine in this lineup, and accordingly it will require the most time. Tannic and austere at the outset, the wine gradually opens to reveal staggering richness and depth in its dark fruit. The wine turns more elegant in the glass, revealing a myriad of black fruit, tar, licorice, spices and scorched earth in a dazzling display of class and elegance. This is one for the ages. Anticipated maturity: 2027-2047. My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604 8900

A rich, sumptuous red, tasting in turn like sweet spices, smoke, toast, blackberry, plum and licorice. These notes unravel in layers, matched to a dense texture and finely meshed tannins. Combining grace and power, this resonates on the finish, with cherry, spice and mineral notes. Best from 2014 through 2035. 80 cases imported. -BS

Always a standout among Gaja’s five single-vineyard wines, Sori San Lorenzo benefits from an excellent vintage to produce what will surely become a must-have bottle for collectors of Italian wine. There’s enormous beauty and elegance here, backed by power and intensity with ripe fruit, spice, toasted nut and cola. It also shows impressive linearity and focus. Hold for 10 years or more.——M.L.(5/1/2011)—— 99