Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Domenico Clerico 2015 Barolo Pajana opens to a beautifully saturated color with dark garnet and ruby highlights. Compared to the 2016 vintage that I tasted at the same time, this wine is more robust, structured and deeper. In some cases, I prefer 2016 to 2015, but this is one case in which the warmer vintage ushers forth a special and very attractive level of intensity. The bouquet is layered, multifaceted and fluid. Despite the many adjectives you could use to describe the bouquet, one thing does not change and that is the sheer intensity of this impressive Barolo Pajana. Rating : 96+
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James Suckling
The riper sensations of red-plum compote and cherry kernel here are nicely mixed in with subtler nuances of dried rose petals and Chinese spices. These follow through to a full body, laced with polished tannins and finely judged, fresh red fruit. Quite long on the finish. Drink from 2023.
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Wine Spectator
A tough customer, with big, burly tannins dominating any fruit at this stage. Nonetheless, this is not overly astringent, and may just need more time. Fresh and long on the finish. Best from 2024 through 2045.
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.