Winemaker Notes
Notes of ripe red fruit with a long, sophisticated, rich and elegant finish. The palate is full bodied with sweet tannins.
*This wine ships with one of six possible labels. Specific labels cannot be requested.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Barolo Aeroplanservaj displays a bit more depth of pigment in its jeweled ruby hue and is expressive and seductive on the nose, with more polished oak spice aromatics along with notes of kirsch, pressed flowers, and Asian spices that weave through the wine with a skilled and well-managed touch. It’s long and layered on the palate, with an expanding, full-bodied richness without feeling heavy, and it has ripe tannins and a long finish. It will benefit from cellaring. Drink 2027-2047.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Domenico Clerico 2021 Barolo Aeroplan Servaj is a powerful expression of Nebbiolo with thick layers of intensity, dark fruit and spice and impressive depth. It is fermented for the most part (90%) in botte grande, with 10% in barrique. Blending is done at the end. Fruit comes from the Teodoro MGA in Serralunga d'Alba with eastern exposures at 280 to 350 meters in elevation. This full-bodied Barolo will uphold many good years of cellar aging thanks to the integrity of its primary fruit, the firm tannins and balanced acidity.
Rating: 96+ -
James Suckling
A youthful, almost estery wine with strawberry and red cherry aromas and graphite flavors. It has a full body and firm, dusty tannins that are chewy but austere, with a refreshing finish. Drink or hold.
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.