Gaja Gaia & Rey

Remarkably balanced and deeply sophisticated, the '13 Gaia & Rey shows why this wine is arguably the most collectable Italian white. The nose bursts with succulent tropical, orchard and citrus fruits that are framed with spice, almond and wildflowers, but it's on the palate that this wine really delivers, coating the mouth with a creamy feel even as the wine builds to a fresh, lingering finish. Deriving from Gaja's almost nine-acre Treiso vineyard planted in 1979, this wine is named for Angelo Gaja's oldest daughter, Gaia Gaja, and his grandmother, Clotilde Rey. Gaia & Rey ferments with naturally occurring yeasts, and ages for 6-8 months in oak barrels. This is an intensely age-worthy wine, developing tertiary notes of nuts, butter and caramel with age.