Domenico Clerico Barolo Ginestra Pajana 2013 750ml

Pajana represents the lower end of the same site that produces fruit for the Barolo Ciabot Mentin. The soils are a bit looser here and the temperatures are just a few fractions higher at this site. Winemaking for the 2013 Barolo Pajana sees 20 days of skin maceration, and malolactic fermentation in this vintage was done in oak (otherwise that second fermentation occurs in stainless steel). The idea, of course, is to work without oxygen, but if the malolactic fermentations are slow, the wine goes into wood, as is the case here. The wine later ages in barrique for 16 months with another 16 months in botte grande. The bouquet offers delicate layers of mineral and flint with dark fruit and spice neatly folded into its thick texture. Both the Barolo Pajana and the Barolo Ciabot Mentin are released one year after their peers.

• Country: Italy
• Region: Piedmont
• Appellation: Barolo
• Size: 750ml
• Color: Red

Varietal

Nebbiolo

The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy’s finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means ‘fog’ in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.