2010 Barolo Percristina

Here's a very special treat. The Domenico Clerico 2010 Barolo Per Cristina has the magic touch. With the benefit of 10 years since the harvest (with 18 months in barrique, three years in botte and five years in bottle), it offers a unique tasting experience that takes you down the proverbial rabbit hole of Nebbiolo nuances, with shifting flavors and intensity. I did not find this wine to be at all mature or oxidized, indeed I admire the brightness and freshness of its primary aromas that are very much intact and appear younger than their real age. You get dark cherry, fig, spice, tar and earth. The tannins are tucked into the silky fiber of the wine, and although you can sense that some of that power comes from the aging, the oak tannins are elegantly integrated. Per Cristina is located in the Mosconi cru with vines planted in 1968 at 240 to 280 meters above sea level. It is the estate's oldest vineyard, and the vines are known to produce small berries and concentrated fruit flavors. This Barolo was not made in 2009, and this vintage counts a mere 3,000 bottles.

Sadly, the 2010 Barolo Percristina is already mature. Sweet tobacco, mint, licorice, dried fruit and heavy torrefaction notes are all suggestive of a wine that needs to be enjoyed within the next few years at most. Three years in oak, 60% new, appears to have been too much.

Monforte d’Alba. 1 ha of Mosconi, south-facing and with 65-year-old vines. Aged for four years in barrique (60% new) followed by two years in big cask. Will be released in 2020, after 10 years of ageing. Deep ruby. Beautiful, minty fruit with savoury notes that are from oak, but completely integrated into the wine. Just the beginning of tobacco hints. Ripe, concentrated red fruit that is truly transparent with fine, long, polished tannins. A little vibrant on the finish. Impressive, polished and delicious. (WS)