The 2006 Barolo Aeroplan Servaj is a new Barolo from Clerico. The vineyard is in Badarina, just opposite Cascina Francia in Serralunga. This is the first opportunity readers will have to taste a Barolo from Serralunga by Clerico, a grower whose wines have always been virtually inseparable for their connection to Monforte. The Aeroplan Servaj is a beautiful, sensual wine graced with exquisite layers of dark, perfumed fruit. This is a decidedly elegant, feminine Barolo from Serralunga that, while beautiful, only captures a fraction of what this vineyard is ultimately capable of. Clerico and his team faced significant challenges when they took over the farming of the vineyard in 2006, down to being threatened at gunpoint by the owner when he saw how much fruit was being dropped in the vineyard! Based on the future vintages I have tasted in barrel, Aeroplan Servaj is a work in progress moving in the right direction. The wine’s colorful name, ‘wild airplane’ is a nickname given to the young, rambunctious Clerico by his father. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2026.
It’s great to see Domenico Clerico pretty much back to his normal self after a bout with illness over the last few years. Despite having made so many dazzling wines in the past, I can’t help thinking Clerico’s best Baroli may still lie ahead. Maceration times have been gradually lengthened, the use of new French oak has come down in most of the wines and there are rumblings that larger casks are on the way. As always, I tasted a large selection of wines during my recent visit to the estate, including 4-5 vintages of each of the Baroli. Clerico’s 2006s are emotional, moving wines that are living up to the praise I bestowed upon them last year. The 2007s are stratospheric, while the 2008s are developing very well, albeit in a more classic style than the decidedly exuberant 2007s. In 2008 Clerico has a Barolo from his vineyard in Bussia that is still being raised separately and may be bottled on its own. Based on multiple tastings, it is a special Barolo. It’s still early for the 2009s, but today they are less viscerally thrilling, pretty much in line with the way most wines of that year are showing right now.
A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including: de Grazia Imports; tel. (417) 732-4200; Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300, Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael CA; tel. (415) 492-9411, Robert Houde Wines, Bensenville IL; tel. (630) 422-1119
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