Winemaker Notes
Extremely long, always evolving into something more sophisticated, rich and elegant. In the mouth is full body, sweet tannins but very important. It never ends. Great vintage able to be very complex but drinkable.
Naturally, this Barolo, originating in the rented vineyard in Serralunga, also had to be expressed by a completely differentconcept on the bottle. As a result, six different labels represent the Wild Aeroplane.
*Specific labels cannot be requested.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Barolo Aeroplan Servaj is a wine of celestial aspiration. It soars in beauty and intensity, imparting delicate aromas of wild berry, blue flower and balsam herb as it makes its steady ascent. It shows the best of Serralunga d'Alba. The quality of fruit is tonic and compact with enormous inner tension and verve. There is a subtle, but determined, vein of acidic freshness that adds impressive length and persistency to the finish. It drives the wine forward over the palate with increased momentum and forward thrust. Barolo Aeroplan Servaj definitely needs more cellar time to lose some of its nervous energy. This wine should age gracefully and very slowly.
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James Suckling
This is rich and velvety with lots of dried fruits, spices and coffee aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, round and chewy, yet rich and flavorful. Big and juicy style. My favorite 2010 Barolo from Clerico.
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Wine Spectator
The coffee, vanilla and toast aromas evoke breakfast, but the red fruit, tobacco and mineral flavors suggest pairing with a juicy, medium-rare steak. Stiff tannins clamp down on the finish. Shut down for now, so faith is required. Best from 2020 through 2036. 500 cases made.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.