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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 39 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Thief on 7/10/2022 & rated 94 points: Crimson red. Aromas of fig, tar, and hint of menthol at first. With time, orange peel aromas developed. Tannins are still very moderately firm, but with tagine of lamb this really paired well and was silky smooth. (573 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 6/19/2022 & rated 92 points: Dark crimson in color. 14.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, wet asphalt and roses. Medium body with strong acidity. Ample fruit and prominent tannins but showing well for a vintage that is on the decline. Plums, menthol and tobacco on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. Lacks the concentration to be truly special but a really nice showing nonetheless. Best over the next 2-3 years. (598 views) | | | Tasted by c.roy90 on 11/24/2021 & rated 85 points: No real redeeming quality to this wine. Rustic, hot, and removed from any elegance. Couldn't find pleasure in the first bottle, didn't find anything in my sixth (and last) bottle. C'est la vie. And so the Barolo adventures continue!
BYOB dinner at MAMA in Oakland, CA. (931 views) | | | Tasted by swapdoc on 11/3/2021: Needs air and time to open. Still tannic in the finish; the fruit shows traditional bold zesty and tart nebbiolo flavors but also shows a streak of stewed plum -- a reminder of the searing 2003 summer. With time, this flaw may become more apparent. (982 views) | | | Tasted by Rich S on 2/21/2021 & rated 86 points: Decanted for sediment. Pale garnet color with hints of amber toward the rim. Nose showed a mix of baked red fruits, tar, cedar cigar box, baking spices, a bit of raisin/fig. The nose outshined the palate unfortunately as the dominant flavors were ripe, stewed cherries, plums, fig and oak. Medium+ acid and tannin. Finishes a little hot. This unfortunately was likely a product of the warm vintage and has a bit of a port like quality to it almost. I would drink up if holding any. (1157 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 6/22/2020 & rated 93 points: Rust colored with considerable bricking. 14.5% ABV. Substantial sediment. Pretty nose of dried red fruits, rose petals and asphalt. Powerful, concentrated and tannic. Everything seems to be in balance. Dried cherries, licorice, tar and tobacco on the palate. The finish is exquisite. Super Barolo that is aging well. Set aside any preconceived notions on the '03 vintage and just enjoy what is in the glass. Best over the next 5-8 years. (1155 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 5/3/2019 & rated 91 points: My last bottle. Pnp. Slight bricking towards a translucent rim. Much better showing than my previous bottle. No signs of oxidization, fairly aromatic on the palate, good acidity but also these never ending medium + tannins. A good but not great Barolo aromatically. This has become a bit more approachable but you still need a fairly high tannin tolerance to truly enjoy this wine. The tannins could easily use another 10 years, will the fruit still last? Who knows... (1850 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 3/8/2018 flawed bottle: My fifth bottle from a case over many years. This has been one of the most disappointing wines I have. In early years unpleasantly harsh and tannic, the wine is showing now very oxidative with some unattractive tar notes in the background. Let’s see if my last bottle is just as bad. Kept in impeccable conditions since I bought it but perhaps some heat damage prior to that? (2505 views) | | | Tasted by Plabella on 2/9/2016 & rated 92 points: drank with Bill Anderson at Mangia Qui (3946 views) | | | Tasted by Plabella on 1/28/2016 & rated 88 points: didnt taste as it should. Fruit was dull and wine was tannic (3636 views) | | | Tasted by Plabella on 1/24/2016 & rated 93 points: beautiful wine dark fruit, chocalate well balanced (3480 views) | | | Tasted by Plabella on 1/22/2016 & rated 94 points: this is a full body wine with dark fruit and long flavor (3138 views) | | | Tasted by t_moderne on 12/31/2015 & rated 92 points: Opened, poured into a decanter, and let sit in a cool place for about four hours before serving. Served with food (roast pork, sauteed fennel and onions, and broccoli rabe, in case you were wondering).
Dark color. Rich nose of dark black fruits, some rose petals and licorice root. this is a rich wine, showing dark black cherries, some slight notes of prune and dried figs, and licorice root on the finish. round in the mouth with gripping tannins on the finish. Quite an enjoyable wine. (2640 views) | | | Tasted by blanquito on 7/21/2015: Hmmm, not sure what to make of this. In a nutshell, stay away from this wine as it is a tannic brute right now with way too much oak tannin on the finish. That said, the fruit was nice and free of overly modern fingerprints, but I was left wondering if this wine will hold up to its tannins levels. (1827 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 1/9/2015 & rated 93 points: Poured into decanter and drank over several hours. Enjoyed this now more than earlier bottles. Takes about 30 min to open up but then it's stunning. Not a particularly concentrated attack but then a very expressive mid-palate with flowers, earth, herbs and cherries, and a long finish. 14.5% alcohol well integrated. Medium plus tannins which mellow a bit with extended air time but those stunning aromatics become also more muted while some of these hot vintage tar notes start to come through.
Have no idea what this implies for long term cellaring of this 03 Barolo as I find Barolos just so much harder to predict than Bordeaux (blends). So if you have not yet opened your case, I would say it's certainly worth a try now. (2417 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 11/15/2014: Brought to a dinner and PnP. Consistent with earlier notes. Fairly big tannins appear with more air exposure. Wait 5 years...? (2450 views) | | | Tasted by Derek Darth Taster on 9/3/2014: Tasting at Corkscrew Museum (Corkscrew Museum in Barolo): Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of soy sauce, leather, mushrooms, almonds, earth. Developing.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol, high tannins, full body. Pronounced flavor intensity, with flavours of red and dark cherries, soy sauce, leather, mushrooms, earth, and a slight bitter almond. Long finish.
Outstanding quality. Very nice already in terms of nose and flavours. But tannins still very big. Maybe a few more years will smoothen them out.
From the Pajana cru in the commune of Monforte d'Alba. (3091 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 6/8/2014: Consistent note, if anything this was more tannic than last year as it might have lost a touch of fruit. While I can admire the complexity of the fruit and aromas, with such tannins, for me it's lightyears away from a Bordeaux in terms of sheer pleasure to drink. Planning to try some Barolos from 80s/90s and then perhaps focus on regions I like more... (2973 views) | | | Tasted by strickt01 on 4/27/2014 & rated 93 points: From the first sniff I was utterly sold on this. Lovely savoury nose with balsamic and pomegranate notes that really fill the olfactory senses. I was therefore expecting such powerful aromatics to be accompanied by a forceful palate entry. However, this glides across the tongue and down the throat, leaving delicious layers of dark fruits, tar and tobacco. The tannins do clamp down somewhat over the course of the bottle, but these are not particularly drying; instead they only act to coat the tongue with the same wonderful flavours the wine imparted on its first pass through the mouth.
On a related note, my last Barolo having been a 2005, this was a demonstration of why generalisations regarding vintages have to be treated with extreme caution. I would definitely have got the two the wrong way round in a blind tasting. (2355 views) | | | Tasted by pgb67 on 3/23/2014 & rated 94 points: Bring on Spring parties ...: Still a bruiser over a decade in, with a block of tannins that seemed to pick up power over the course of the night. Hold! Nice cherry and raspberry fruit profile with balsamic and tobacco notes. (2414 views) | | | Tasted by pavel_p on 12/30/2013 & rated 93 points: PnP but takes about 30-45 min before the initially dominating and very dry tannins are in balance with the fruit as the wine opens up. Garnet with slight browning towards the translucent rim. A beautiful nose with intense earthy smell, herbs, red and dark fruit then dried beef, tar, bitter chocolate. Dry, medium tannins announce the transition into a long finish. Has none of the usual heat and overripe fruit found in the 03 vintage across large parts of Italy and France. Also my first really convincing and balanced Barolo. Glad I stocked up on Clerico's 07s. 93 (+?)
If it was not a Barolo would say it needs a few more years for the now relatively subtle but dry tannins to soften but with Barolo I guess it's part of the deal and waiting only a few years would not do the trick, so probably drink now (2739 views) | | | Tasted by EmilyE on 6/6/2013 & rated 93 points: Decanted for about an hour. Brick color with slow forming legs and aromas of tobacco, tar, sour cherry, dried rose, cola and cedar. It's in total harmony and has flavours of cherry, pomegranate and cedar with a full body. Nice tannins and a long finish. (2499 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 10/27/2011 flawed bottle: nose- funky, ass crack, olive, and ultimately smells like vermouth which is the first hint to me that something is wrong here
mouth - per brian a caramelized fruit rollup. in fact paired well with the chocolate cake, but it had a mild yet lingering oxidative flavor leading me to think its a defective bottle. Not everyone agreed, however (perhaps no one else agreed); in fact it was Brian's WOTN, go figure(!) (3602 views) | | | Tasted by Jack O'Brien on 10/17/2011 & rated 99 points: Near perfect Barolo. The Pajana is so complex and intricate, more so than any other Barolo I have drunk in recent memory. Amazing nose of freshly picked cranberries, cranberry sauce and cherry jelly. Mineral tones of soil but not in an “earthy/funk” kind of way. Notes of fennel and black liquorish, pine and flowers. All found on the palate, which is dominated by tannins. Amazing in its youth and can definitely age longer. The finish lasted forever. (3988 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 6/25/2011: didnt take notes or pay too close attention, though overall i though this was drinking nicely now. Has some mature characteristics. Next bottle in a year. (3558 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2003 Barolo: Ten Years Later (Jun 2014)
(Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, November/December 2007, IWC Issue #135
(Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/26/2007)
(Domenico Clerico, Pajana Barolo Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Piedmont Report (Oct 2007)
(Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Domenico Clerico Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
(Addt’l US Importer)NebbioloNebbiolo is a red grape indigenous to the Piedmont region of Italy in the Northwest. The grape can also be found in other parts of the world, though they are not as respected.
Nebbiolo is often considered the "king of red wines," as it is the grape of the famed wines of Barolo DOCG, Barbaresco DOCG, and Roero DOCG. It is known for high tannins and acidity, but with a distinct finesse. When grown on clay, Nebbiolo can be very powerful, tannic, and require long aging periods to reach its full potential. When grown on sand, the grape exhibits a more approachable body with more elegant fruit and less tannins, but still has high aging potential.
"Nebbiolo" is named for the Italian word, "nebbia", which means "fog", in Italian and rightfully so since there is generally a lot of fog in the foothills of Piedmont during harvest.
Nebbiolo is a late-ripening variety that does best in a continental climate that boasts moderate summers and long autumns. In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is normally harvested in October.
More links:
Varietal character (Appellation America) | Nebbiolo on CellarTrackerPajanaPajana is a plot of the Ginistra 114 ha. vineyard (cru) in the Monforte d'Alba municipality. On weinlagen-infoItaly Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorPiedmont Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italian only)
On weinlagen-infoLanghe Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero | Union of Producers of Albese Wines (Albeisa)BaroloRegional History:
The wines of Piedmont are noted as far back as Pliny's Natural History. Due to geographic and political isolation, Piedmont was without a natural port for most of its history, which made exportation treacherous and expensive. This left the Piedmontese with little incentive to expand production. Sixteenth-century records show a mere 14% of the Bassa Langa under vine -- most of that low-lying and farmed polyculturally. In the nineteenth century the Marchesa Falletti, a frenchwoman by birth, brought eonologist Louis Oudart from Champagne to create the first dry wines in Piemonte. Along with work in experimental vineyards at Castello Grinzane conducted by Camilo Cavour -- later Conte di Cavour, leader of the Risorgimento and first Prime Minister of Italy -- this was the birth of modern wine in the Piedmont. At the heart of the region and her reputation are Alba and the Langhe Hills. This series of weathered outcroppings south of the Tanaro River is of maritime origin and composed mainly of limestone, sand and clay, known as terra bianca. In these soils -located mainly around the towns of Barolo and Barbaresco -- the ancient allobrogica, now Nebbiolo, achieves its renowned fineness and power.
map of Barolo DOCG
An interesting thread on Traditional vs. Modern Barolo producers:
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106291 |
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