1998 Domenico Clerico, Barolo DOCG “Pajana” Ginesta Cru, Piemonte, Italy.
The 1998 Pajana Barolo from the legendary Domenico Clerico is drinking remarkable and maybe one of the most beautiful nicely aged Barolos I’ve had in years with a gorgeous pure garnet/brick hue in the glass, elegant, red fruited and delicately floral aromatics leading the way in the glass where a full bodied and well matured palate stimulates the senses with classic Nebbiolo charm and exceptional length. There’s all the right stuff pumping here, and I think it has at least another 10 plus years of peak drinking window, it shows off layers of dark berry, damson plum, kirsch, wild strawberry and orange/cranberry fruits, along with hints of cedary wood, minty herbs, dried lavender, tar and licorice. The structure is fabulous, tannins rounded with maturity and still fresh with acidity, making the 1998 Clerico Pajana, which come from the fabled Ginestra (Grand Cru) in Monforte d’Alba, a very special bottle, which I am incredibly grateful to have enjoyed at its peak. When I first started selling wine professionally, Clerico was a cult star win the collectors wine world, so it wasn’t often that we got a chance to actually open a bottle, so this was a wonderful surprise to experience and wow, this 1998 did not disappoint, huge thanks again to my friend Alex Lallos who made a lamb meal to go with this thrilling Barolo from his cellar! Over the course of a few hours and with food, this wine never let off the gas, it put in a top performance from start to the last drop, which I fought over, it was brilliant.
The Clerico winery says that the Pajana plot, originally planted in 1971 and first done as a single cru offering in 1990, always manages to render the most elegant and aromatic undertones of Ginestra vineyard and highlights the terroir of Monforte d’Alba in the Barolo D.O.C.G. zone here. They adds that it is proof of the exceptional nature of this great geographical position, which its sandy loams over clay marl and limestone soils, perfect east and southeast facing slopes, and its elevation at around 340 meters up. The Pajana plot, planted to all Nebbiolo vines, takes its name from the old road that runs along the top of the hill, an ancient pass that connected Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga, which is still accessible on foot today. The late Domenico Clerico, who was a huge star in Barolo circles and one of the original Barolo Boys, started the modern version of Clerico along with his wife wife Giuliana, when he took over the winery from his father in 1976 and turned this humble label into one of Italy’s most sought after. During the mid to late 1990s, Clerico, Altare and Giacosa, along with a select group of others, were the rock stars of Barolo and brought some flash to the region experimenting with Burgundy style barrels and pushing ripe concentration, making wines that wine enthusiasts at the time wanted, before stepping back in the mid 2000s to a more restrained and traditional style. This 1998 Pajana, a nearly perfect wine at this point, couldn’t be a much better tribute to the late Domenico Clerico and Barolo collectors should dig around their cellars (if they are lucky enough) for this one soon!
($125 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive