Profound, the 1997 Sori San Lorenzo is an elegant, nuanced, and complex Gaja offering. It exhibits a striking perfume of lead pencil, roasted nuts, black fruits, spice box, leather, cedar, and Chinese black tea. Forward yet enormously constituted and rich, with an ethereal elegance underpinning its personality, the Sori Lorenzo displays a classic combination of power and finesse. Sadly, there are only 10,000 bottles. As this wine sat in the glass, notes of Japanese soy sauce made an appearance. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2030. - Robert Parker

Very dark ruby. Aromas of rose bush, black pepper and sliced plum. Full-bodied, with super-well-integrated tannins. They are big and rich, yet refined and polished. This still needs time to mellow. But what a wine. It keeps on changing in the glass, with loads of vanilla bean, fruit and herbs and then goes floral. Still needs time.--1997 Italian blind retrospective. Best after 2010. 800 cases made. –JS

This was my fourth bottle with friends in Hong Kong during my birthday last week. The 1997 vintage was a great one for Gaja, and he made rich and structured single-vineyard wines. It was the first year that he started using Langhe DOC instead of the Barbaresco DOCG appellation – a mistake in my opinion but that's another column. This bottle showed greatness as always with aromas of dried fruits, mushrooms and eucalyptus. It was full-bodied with integrated tannins and a long and intense finish. Minerals and spices came through as an aftertaste, and the flavors went on for minutes. The wine is just coming around now. Decant before serving.