Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis 2005
Posted By Joel on May 19, 2009
Gaja Ca’Marcanda Promis 2005
The end of all good music is to affect the soul.
—- Claudio Monteverdi, from his 8th Book of Madrigals
Like good music, good wine should stir the soul. As if inspired by that “Giver of delight”, Euterpe, Muse of Music, Angelo Gaja’s Ca’ Marcanda Promis 2005 reminds me of what Monteverdi was meaning in the quote above.
The legendary Angelo Gaja began thinking of branching out beyond his native Piemonte during the 1990’s. Two areas of Tuscany - Montalcino and Bolgheri - areas especially well known for their high quality reds, eventually became home to Gaja winemaking ventures that play an important role in the production of his wine Promis. In a way characteristic of other Gaja wines, Promis is deliberately made as an IGT wine, thus allowing the maestro to work outside of DOC disciplinare regulations in determining varietals and blend from both of these Tuscan production areas.
Although Gaja represents 4 generations of Piemontese winemaking, he came to Tuscany as a “learner”, not a “teacher”, translating generations of Piedmont winemaking experience to realize unique and optimal results with the Tuscan terroirs.
Produced at Ca’Marcanda, Super Tuscan Promis is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Syrah, from the Ca’Marcanda estate in Bolghieri, and 10% Sangiovese from Gaja’s Montalcino property Pieve Santa Restituta, production areas that map incredibly well to producing phenomenal results with those specific vines. Fermentation is carried out separately by varietal. Maturation takes place in a combination of new and used barriques for 18 months, followed by several months of bottle ageing.
Tasting Notes / Impressions:
The whole orchestra plays at once with Gaja’s Promis. A profound harmony seems to come from somewhere deep within the wines core, all the wine’s components reverberating in sympathetic reaction. The wine sent a garnet wave of crushed velvet swirling lush, warm, dark cherry fruit all over my tongue, embellished with notes of spice, herb, and leather. The finish is sensational, long and delicious fading to pianissimo and disappearing into silence. Where some wines lead with an incredible sense of place, that is not quite the case here: though still decidely “Italian”, the astonishing thing about this wine is the integration of its parts - you look for a seam, but there is none to be found - magnificent balance, incredible craftsmanship.
Food Pairing Suggestions:
Egg pasta, especially with morel or mushroom sauce; Ravioli, especially stuffed with ricotta or pumpkin; Ossobucco (braised veal shanks); Sushi; Beef Bourguignon; stuffed mushrooms; steak
About the author
Joel
Joel Mack has worked for a celebrated importer / distributor of Italian wines and continues to study the wines and winemaking of Italy. He has advised many restaurants in making their Italian wine list selections and has provided training to restaurant staff. Today, Joel conducts wine classes and leads specialized private and corporate tastings of Italian wines. Joel carried out his higher education at a highly regarded College of Music and continues to extend an artistic point of view to Italian wine, balanced with factual information about wine, its nature and identity. By day, he applies his time to collaborative software technology. Joel can be contacted at joel@vintrospective.com.Comments
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Just curious…how long should the bottle be decanted for before drinking? Thank you!
Hi, Don…the wine will benefit from 30-45 minutes of air time, but I wouldn’t let it go longer than 1 hour. Thanks for your question! Best, Joel.