Piedmont 2013, Day 2 - Visit to Domenico Clerico

I really do not know what to make out of Domenico Clerico - possibly the foremost prophet of the modern Barolo style, darling of certain critics, with rising prices to match, housed in the most modern, minimalist, designer winery in the region (complete with swimming pool), yet also seemingly in flux, with the changing perceptions of what Barolo should be, Clerico's own shifting ideas, and the fact of his serious illness not too long ago. When we visited, we could certainly tell that the whole wine-making approach was changing, shifting towards a more middle-ground, with the rotary fermenters barely given a rotation here and there (they seem almost redundant know, being employed like normal steel tanks) and the use of toasty new oak barriques being drawn down.

The ultra-modern style is certainly not my cup of tea, especially when young; and even within the modernist camp, I sometimes find Clerico's recent wines a bit too heavy-handed, a bit too extracted, with big, thick fruit. However, stylistic preferences aside, almost every wine in the tasting showed a nice purity, and there was certainly a good amount of quality in many of them. But all said, at the end of the day, while I would happily drink some of these, they are certainly not the type of Barolo I enjoy most. And for the entry price for these wines, there are quite a few makers, both modern and traditional, who produce wines that I like far more.

• 2010 Domenico Clerico Barbera d'Alba Trevigne 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

  Pretty good, even if it is not exactly up my alley. This Barbera was right in line with the house style, with a big nose full of black fruit wreathed in smoke, meat and wilted flower accents. Attractive in a strong, masculine fashion, save perhaps for an edge of glycerol here and there. As with the nose, the palate was huge, rich and sappy, with layers of juicy black fruit, plums at the fore, and then an inky, almost raisiny midpalate. However, for all that fruit, there was actualy a nice purity in spite of it all, with a lovely acid seam leading the wine into a surprisingly energetic finish with little bits of wood and spice emerging. Somehow this just managed to remained balanced and quite drinkable. Pretty good in fact, and it should be better with food and definitely after a few years in the bottle.

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• 2009 Domenico Clerico Barolo Bricotto Bussia 88 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  A hard wine in its youth. This is not my cup of tea. It started out with a distincly woody nose, with plenty of oaky vanilla aromas swirling around a core of sour plums, cherries and flowers, with a whiff of smoke drifting behind. I thought this would have been quite nice apart from all that overt oak. The palate was very big, very full-on fruit, with a large-scaled attack of cherries and berries, bolstered by a stirring structure of mouth-puckering acidity and chewy, biting, almost slightly green tannins that coated the tongue and teeth. It finished tough as well, with very chewy tannins overlaying a drift of smoky tar. This was quite undrinkable at the moment. As with the other Clerico wines though, there is a discernable purity running through it all, showing the quality of fruit. But unlike many other young Barolos, even some others from this house, it is just impossible to see how this will develop through all that wood and extraction. This is neither an indictment of the modern style or of Domenico Clerico, but at the moment, I did not like it much.

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• 2008 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Another rather difficult wine to gauge. There are things that I like about this, but it is still rather disjointed, showing very heavy-handed winemaking. Unlike the Bricotto that preceded it though, I am quite confident this will improve nicely over time - the only question it to what extent. On the day, it had a very expressive nose from first pour, with lots of earth, soy, and balsamic notes, all rather oxidative notes, along with deep but indisctinct dark fruit and meat aromas. I thought this was worryingly advanced initially. Thankfully, it opened up with air to show fresher scents of fresh-cut flowers, with dried prunes and apricots and a sprinkle of sweet spice. Quite pretty actually. The palate was a whole lot brighter than the nose - with lots of big, bright fruited tones, from a mix dark cherries with sunny red and blue fruit on the attack, to sweeter notes of dried Christmas-cake fruit and peach tea with an unsual grassy lilt on the midpalate. Past that though, it shrinks quickly a robe of tough, teeth-coating tannins, rather emptying out a bit towards the end, leaving just a linger of sweet dried fruit and a pinch of prune. The jury's still out with this one for me. Again, there was a lovely quality to its fruit, but it seemed a bit disjointed and difficult after the midpalate, where what stood out most was the rather rough extraction on the wine. On the evidence, I think it is a pretty good wine, but only time will tell whether the pieces will come together to make it more than that. Something to try again in 10 years.

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• 2007 Domenico Clerico Barolo Aeroplan Servaj Serralunga 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  I thought this was one of the better wines on the tasting. I liked the nose here. A touch of glycerol aside, it had a nice floral character, with shades of rose floating amidst rich red fruited scents, fresh green herbs and a little drift of fragrant smoke and Christmas spices. The palate was round and fleshy, rather fruit-cakey, with sappy cherry flavours on the attack wed to dried stone fruit accents on the midpalate and beyond. Long, complex finish too, powerful, yet with nice nuances of smoke and dried flowers amongst the fruit. Here, nice juicy acidity and firm but ripe tannins made the wine a really pleasurable drink. I thought this was the most drinkable of the wines on show, and a big part of it had to do with the fact that the structure and extraction seems the most well-judged amongst its peers. While this will not be the longest lasting Barolo by any means, it is quite delicious and should drink well from its youth and well into its second decade. Very nice.

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• 2005 Domenico Clerico Barolo Percristina 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Very good. However, this is another one of those wines with absurdedly high scores from certain wine critics that I just could not appreciate as much. It is good for sure, in a very modern style, but certainly not greater than many a Barolo with a fraction of its price-tag or critical approval. The nose was typical Clerico - big, bold and insistent, with dark cherry and blackberry fruit, some flowers, some spice, on a very savoury base of meaty aromas. Nice stuff - quite a bit going on there. I really liked that the palate came across very clean, pure and fresh in spite of a good depth of fruit showing in its black cherries and berry flavours. The tannins were firm, but supple, and there was decent acidity - this was a wine of nice proportions. Good length on the finish too, tapering off on a meaty backdrop. This is many years from being ready - I would broach it again in say 10-12 years time at the very least - but it is good wine. Modern for sure in its fruit and feel, but nice.

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• 2005 Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Pretty good as well - I liked this as much as an of the other wines at the tasting. It had a beautiful nose. There was still a touch of wood hanging around, but this took a back seat to fresh scents of cherries and berries perfumed with lots of flowers and spiked with just a tiny hint of tar. Very nice indeed. In spite of being marked by firm, muscular, tannins, the palate still managed to come across with a certain modern velvety smoothness, with a lovely purity of fruit, showing in its red cherry and raspberry flavours. There was nice, supple acidity too, which carried the wine into a long, powerful finish, where the fruit was nicely integrated with a seasoning of wood spice and another kiss of sweet oak. This needs more time to throw off the overt woodiness it still carries, however, there is quite a bit of quality, and fans of the modern style will enjoy this a lot. I would give it another 6-8 years in the bottle though.

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