2006 - Barolo Ginestra Ciabot Mentin, Domenico Clerico

The 2006 Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra bursts onto the palate with gorgeous, well-delineated aromas and flavors. This is an especially chiseled, finely sculpted, yet exotic Barolo endowed with extraordinary complexity and mouth-filling intensity in its ripe dark plums, mint, violets, sweet spices, soy, tar and minerals. In 2006, the Ciabot combines elegance and power to a degree that is exceedingly rare. It is another superb and truly special Barolo from Domenico Clerico. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031. It’s great to see Domenico Clerico doing better after what has been a very difficult struggle with illness. My recent tasting with Clerico was amazing, as I had a chance to survey all of his Barolos in verticals covering vintages 2004 through 2008, which provided quite a bit of perspective on the relative qualities of this series of important vintages. I have done similar tastings here once – sometimes twice – a year for many years, and have always needed a bit of a break afterwards, as Clerico’s wines are massively tannic and structured when young, which, when coupled with Monforte’s trademark acidity, can tire the palate. Not this time. What has changed? For starters, the move toward longer fermentations/macerations and the reduction in the use of French oak have begun to yield wines of incomparable finesse and elegance. Tasting the vintages side by side, it is apparent that 2004 – as great as those wines are – represents the end of an era at Clerico. The 2005s signal a move towards a more elegant style (much of that is due to the vintage itself, rather than to changes in winemaking) but it is the 2006s that show the first true results of the new approach, and the wines are simply breathtaking. Clerico’s 2007s, however, may be even better as they are shaping up to be profound, utterly mind-bending Barolos. And as for the 2008s, they are still young, but are so promising I can hardly wait to taste them again. For readers who are curious, the 2004s here are su