One of the great entrepreneurs of modern Italian wine, Angelo Gaja's story begins in Barbaresco before the modern revolution hit the Langhe and lifted the general level of wine quality to its current fame. Early in his career he befriended Robert Mondavi, who, on visiting Piemonte, told him that he could hear snoring coming from the houses, that the langaroli were sleeping, not rising to the obvious potential of the area. Gaja obviously took that on board. While he credits Guido Rivello, his winemaker from 1970 to 2013, with the wine quality, Gaja took his wines to the world: the restaurants, the press, and the consumers. He made the name Gaja universal, a name that screamed quality. His first wines, those from his home base of Barbaresco, remain his most famous. Gaja produces three famous single vineyard crus in Barbaresco. Costa Russi is one of the earliest single vineyard bottlings of Nebbiolo, with the 1967 vintage. Named for costa, which indicates the slope, this wine is a classic example of Gaja's expertise. It is a 75cl bottle of red wine, suitable for both men and women.
