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Domenico Clerico Tasting: 'Our wines are like Ferraris'

“This winery has never been about making money,” said Oscar Arrivabene, winemaker and GM of Domenico Clerico.

“When money is the priority you have to make compromises. Our wines are like Ferraris, we make them because they are beautiful not because they are practical. You buy a Ferrari because it’s a piece of art, not because it’s a comfortable ride,” continued Arrivabene.

• Read more: Harpers Italy report 2023
  

Not all wineries can afford this luxury of course, but, as one of the most respected names in Barolo, Domenico has earned the right to be a bit fussy.

“Maybe we screw up from time to time, we skip some vintages, but it’s because we will only release wines that are truly authentic and special.”

Good things are worth waiting for in Italy, just ask any Neapolitan at the moment following S.S.C. Napoli’s first Serie A title triumph in 33 years. The city is pandemonium, displaying a fever and passion that English football fans can only dream of experiencing. 

In the UK, as evidenced in the May edition of Harpers, the appetite for Italian wine is as strong as ever, from Prosecco to still whites and of course Barolos. Much of this stems from an appreciation of Italian culture on our shores, from music and food to wine and football. 

Another thing consumers admire about Italy is its proud history and traditions. More and more, we are seeing customers buy certain products because of where they came from and how they came into existence. 

The Nebbiolo Langhe Capisme-e 2022 is a case in point, a remarkable wine from Monforte d'Alba which has an even more remarkable story.

“Capisme-e translates to ‘understand me’, we call it this partly because we are trying to describe the variety to the consumer through the flavour and profile of this wine,” said Arrivabene.

“But also, it’s a personal story, our founder Domenico Clerico had cancer and following a brain surgery he was no longer able to complete sentences, it was like he was speaking another language. In his frustration, Clerico, who was an incredibly charismatic winemaker, would often punch the table in frustration and say ‘capisme-e’ when describing what his wines needed,” added Arrivabene.

As for the wine itself, the 2022 iteration is ruby in colour with an explosion of fruit on the nose. Courtesy of the short skin contact, the wine is tannic, as a traditional Nebbiolo should be, and serves as a worthy benchmark for this grape variety.

Founder and winemaker Domenico Clerico died in 2017 following a long battle with cancer. He was regarded as a pioneer for Barolo, often bridging the gap between traditionalists and modernists in the region.

Reflecting on Domenico’s legacy, Arrivabene said: “Domenico is a tough act to follow, in the world of wine he is considered to be an artist, to imitate him is impossible so now we focus on the vineyard and try to respect that as authentically as possible in our wines. That is the best possible tribute we can make to Domenico.”

The Barolo 2019 is a perfect illustration of this, a combination of grapes gathered from the best plots of Monforte d'Alba. 

Arrivabene continued: “2019 was a great vintage, we picked the grapes quite late on 23 October, and like with any village, there’s always a lot of gossip, people looked at us like we were crazy because we were picking so late, but we were not phased, we knew exactly the result we wanted.

“If you want to grow Nebbiolo you can only grow Nebbiolo because you have too many months of work,” he added.

The final wine of the tasting was the Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 2019, one of Domenico Clerico’s flagship wines. 

The name of this wine reveals the importance of the plot: the ‘Ciabot’ is a house among the vines, almost a shelter for tools; while ‘Mentin’ is the owner from whom Domenico bought his plot of land.

By comparison, the tannins are much firmer, the finish is incredibly long and the fruit on the nose is more precise than the previous two wines, with more fresh fruit, red berries and cherry.

“The philosophy about the single vineyard is that vintages are very personal, and can sometimes divide opinion, but they are always authentic and that is the main thing,” said Arrivabene.

However, in the winemaker’s opinion, the 2019 vintage was one of the best, “in the last 20 years”.

As mentioned previously, UK consumers love Italian culture, and part of that admiration comes from the synergy between food and wine. With 70% of Domenico’s production going to the on-trade, how does the traditionally tannic Barolo fit into the modern culinary scene?

To this question, Arrivabene responded: “It can be difficult with Barolo and the Michelin star movement, it’s altered the palate of the winemaker, meat has become less important and Nebbiolos, as a result, are becoming less tannic. This creates a demand for more ‘approachable wines’. The problem for Barolo is the three-year cycle (because they are more time-consuming to produce), so if there is an emerging trend in food we are often playing catch up.”

However, as a proud Italian producer, Domenico Clerico is sticking to its guns, which is surely what consumers would prefer. You wouldn’t want a sensible Ferrari and you certainly wouldn’t want a flat Domenico Clerico. 

• Nebbiolo
• Barolo
• Domenico Clerico