Domenico Clerico

Few producers’ wines have given me as much pleasure over the years as those of Domenico Clerico. Based in Monforte, Clerico has been turning out spectacular Barolos since the mid-1980s. I find a spirituality and character in these wines that puts them in a class with few peers. ANTONIO GALLONI

I wrote about the passing of Domenico Clerico last year. He left us in July 2017 after a long illness. This year I tasted with his widow Giuliana and winemaker Oscar Arrivabene. I wanted to repost a memory from the last time I tasted directly with Domenico Clerico: When I tasted with Domenico Clerico just three years prior in this same room, I remember the pure sense of vitality and enthusiasm that radiated off this legendary vintner. His soulful energy permeated the entire room like warm rays of sunshine pouring through those transparent glass walls. Domenico was inexhaustible. He proudly introduced his line of new releases and then brought me down to the cellar to show me all his vinous treasures and keepsakes. Domenico was a lean and wiry man with a thick mane of gray hair, a broad smile and penetrating eyes that always looked straight ahead. He will be remembered for his game-changing contributions to the stylistic evolution of Barolo. Domenico Clerico is a modernist who succeeded in articulating a contemporary voice for the Nebbiolo grape. He farmed vineyards in Monforte d'Alba to produce the legendary wine Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra (now called Ciabot Mentin), Barolo Pajana and Barolo Per Cristina from the Mosconi cru. With a leased parcel in Baudana in Serralunga d'Alba, Domenico Clerico made his Barolo Aeroplan Servaj. In local dialect, the term means “wild airplane” and is what the young, high-spirited Domenico was nicknamed by his father. MONICA LARNER