While we’ve been fortunate enough to dole out a couple of Fabio Gea’s cryptic gems over the years, that in no ways dulls the extreme excitement that accompanies each offer: Acquiring a few bottles is like hitting a hole in one or laying down a royal flush—anytime it happens, if ever, you’re overwhelmed with joy. The “shiner” bottle itself, and the handmade tag hanging from its neck, sheds a lot of light onto this mystery man and the unique identity of his wines. They are clean, smooth, unadulterated creations that are engaged to the essence of nature and painstakingly crafted by hand in minuscule quantities.
And today’s “Onde Gravitazionali” (“Gravitational Waves”) bottling is among his finest of all: A fascinatingly hypnotic blend of Nebbiolo/Barbera/Dolcetto from prime Barbaresco real estate, the wine (1) ages in glass demijohns; (2) is made without intervention; and (3) each bottle number is written in by hand, onto handmade paper, and hand-applied to the bottle itself. Are you starting to get a feel for what this wine embodies? It single-handedly represents the seismic shift in contemporary natural winemaking and ironically manages to do so in impossibly small quantities. We were only able to come away with a handful of cases, which is more than 99.9% of the world can say—don’t waste any time on this one!
So, where to start with the increasingly legendary Fabio Gea? You may have heard that Gea insists on every aspect of his work being driven by equal parts artistry and hand craftsmanship. Yes, Gea practices some of the most painstaking organic/biodynamic farming in Piedmont. Depending on the specific cuvée, Gea vinifies his wines in glass demijohn or his own amphorae made of porcelain (he is also an experienced ceramicist); sometimes it’s fermenters cut from solid sandstone, or sometimes even in his own barrels, made from lumber cured with steam from the volcanic stone in Gea’s home sauna! His obsession with detail and creativity extends to even the smallest details: wine labels are hand-printed on handmade paper which is hand-applied to bottles with a paintbrush. These would be remarkably challenging lengths to go to in any wine region, but the fact that Gea is located in the epicenter of Barbaresco only further boggles the mind.
Given that Gea lives and works in Barbaresco—i.e. some of the world’s most rarefied wine real estate—it’s necessary to mention that beneath the relentless experimentation and creativity here, there is a firm foundation of science and terroir. Gea holds a doctorate degree and is said to have earned a nice living while working as a geologist for large corporations in his years after university. I imagine some of that income came in handy when, a decade and a half ago, Gea renounced corporate life and retired to Barbaresco to rehabilitate his deceased grandfather’s long-fallow farmland and to revive the Gea family’s former winemaking glory. Still, while Gea has enjoyed a meteoric rise to contemporary wine celebrity, he is still working at an absurdly small scale. He farms a few small plots of Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto, mostly located near, or around, Barbaresco’s “Bricco di Neive” vineyard. He only bottles several hundred cases of wine each vintage, depending on yields, and the total is divided between ~7 individual cuvées.
In my experience, the name, label, cépage (blend), production volume, and style of each wine are subject to change each year. Needless to say, this is not a property obsessed with classicism or profit: it is more akin to the studio of a singular, immensely gifted artist. To take the metaphor one step further, I would encourage everyone to embrace Gea’s wines with the same spirit as one would experience the art of Picasso or Kandinsky. There is undeniable craft, talent, and real magic in each of Gea’s wines, but they are in no way a buttoned-up, play-by-the-rules, classic “Piedmont Reds.” These are abstract, progressive wines that will infatuate those who enjoy a taste of life’s wild side.
Fabio Gea’s current release of “Onde Gravitazionali” is a vibrant swirl of Nebbiolo (50%), Barbera (45%) and Dolcetto (5%) that reveals instant aromatic gratification. As we’ve said before, Gea’s wines erupt with lightning-in-a-bottle energy, but they are intended to be experienced fresh and in the moment—not analyzed and dissected for days on end. So, pull the cork, allow it to open up for 10-15 minutes, serve around 60 degrees in Burgundy stems, and enjoy the wild sensory experience. It erupts with Damson plum, huckleberry, blackcurrant, pomegranate seeds, black cherry, a colorful arrangement of flowers, candied violet, plum skin, pepper, juicy licorice, wild shrubbery, and finely crushed stone. Due to the unique vinification—first in glass demijohn, followed by Gea’s own handmade porcelain vessels—the wine radiates with precision that binds the explosive aromas and sublime textures together. It’s powered by raw energy and layers of ripe brambleberry and savory twang that meld right into a mineral-dominated finish. We found it to be drinking at its highest peak within the first two hours of opening. Enjoy these rare trophies now and over the next couple of years. Cheers!
