Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Barolo Pajana reveals incredible aromatic complexity and intensity, something this particular site isn’t always capable of. There is lovely definition to be found as this classic feeling, mid-weight Pajana opens up in the glass. Layers of ripe dark fruit, spices, flowers, licorice and minerals develop seamlessly through to the close. I am floored by the wine’s volume, depth and length. Quite simply, this is a magnificent effort from Clerico. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2006 Barolo Pajana pours garnet red and offers dried red berries, redcurrant, sweet amaro spice, alpine herbs, and earth. Medium-bodied with broad shoulders, it initially feels approachable before revealing firmer underlying structure. This is at peak maturity but holding beautifully.
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James Suckling
This is dense and layered, with lots of raspberry and subtle vanilla character. Full and silky. Very pretty. Beautiful.
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Wine Spectator
A rough and tumble red, full of cherry, floral, strawberry, menthol and spice flavors. The tannins are assertive, dominating the finish, but this shows persistence and a long, mineral aftertaste.
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.