Barolo, Aroplan Servaj, 2006
As of 2006 Domencio Clerico has an exciting new cuvée from a fabulous single vineyard in the Serralunga commune. Domenico has rented the vines and will therefore have total control of production. Winning over the vineyard’s actual owner did not get off to an easy start; Clerico and his team being held at gunpoint when they started green harvesting (dropping fruit is something quite offensive to the old generation of Barolo farmers!). Domenico eventually won him over and is now exploiting this wonderful area’s full potential. The cuvée’s name comes from Domenico’s childhood nickname (wild aeroplane). A powerful, defined and absolutely gripping Barolo, firm and forthright, certainly plenty of backbone but with plenty of fruits and spices fleshing the palate out; notes of bramble, loganberry, cinnamon, liquorice, Morello cherry and hints of sweet smoked meats. A wine of great length and distinction. Packed in cases of six with six individual labels for each of the six bottles.
critic reviews
The 2006 Barolo Aeroplan Servaj is a new Barolo from Clerico. The vineyard is in Badarina, just opposite Cascina Francia in Serralunga. This is the first opportunity readers will have to taste a Barolo from Serralunga by Clerico, a grower whose wines have always been virtually inseparable for their connection to Monforte. The Aeroplan Servaj is a beautiful, sensual wine graced with exquisite layers of dark, perfumed fruit. This is a decidedly elegant, feminine Barolo from Serralunga that, while beautiful, only captures a fraction of what this vineyard is ultimately capable of. Clerico and his team faced significant challenges when they took over the farming of the vineyard in 2006, down to being threatened at gunpoint by the owner when he saw how much fruit was being dropped in the vineyard! Based on the future vintages I have tasted in barrel, Aeroplan Servaj is a work in progress moving in the right direction. The wine's colorful name, ‘wild airplane' is a nickname given to the young, rambunctious Clerico by his father.