Gros Frere et Soeur, Grands Echezeaux Size:6x750ml and 3% Cabernet Franc --

and 3% Cabernet Franc -- in the blend

with suave vanilla

with a smoky

but it is a very fine Gaja wine that reaches this level because of Angelo Gaja's iron-clad will and determination to make it so

featuring a good dose of bracing acidity

Gros Frere et Soeur, Grands Echezeaux Size:6x750ml and 3% Cabernet Franc --(from a . 3 ha parcel replanted in 1985). Somewhat surprisingly given how clean the prior wines are, this is quite firmly reduced and in need of aeration. While there is excellent intensity to the medium weight flavors the finish is at once rustic and tangy, which is to say decidedly awkward. This may recover but its not especially well balanced today though the underlying material appears to be of excellent quality.