2019 Domenico Clerico Ginestra Ciabot Mentin Barolo 750 ml

For dedicated Barolo fans, Domenico Clerico is one of those names you mention with a hand raised to the heart. Wine Advocate said the label makes “emotional, moving wines.” Vinous’ Antonio Galloni cited Clerico as formative to his love affair with Piedmont.

The single-vineyard Ginestra Ciabot Mentin is their calling card, a powerhouse wine that ages effortlessly for decades and boasts conversation-stopping complexity. And the 2019 represents one of the greatest editions ever. The product of an outstanding vintage and Clerico’s continuing refinement in the cellar, it earned dual 97-point scores and is one of the Italian collectible must-haves of the year. 

Domenico Clerico, who passed away in 2017, helped build a new wave of enthusiasm for Piedmont’s wines when he took over his father’s winery in the late 1970s. Dissatisfied with the spotty quality of Barolos at the time, he was one of a group of maverick winegrowers in the 1980s who began experimenting with different approaches to cultivating and crafting Barolo. This “Modernist” school—which included now-iconic names like Paolo Scavino, Angelo Gaja, and Roberto Voerzio—looked to Bordeaux and the New World as they revamped their vineyard management and cellar regimens. 

Forty years of staying on the cutting edge propelled Clerico’s 97-point 2019 Ciabot Mentin Ginestra Barolo to critical acclaim. "Ciabot" is a house or shed nestled among the vines, and "Mentin" is the owner from whom Domenico bought his plot of land, an excellent cru to the northeast of Monforte d’Alba. 

An exemplar of old-vine Nebbiolo, this wine deftly balances power and finesse. Its rich structure and firm tannins will allow it to develop further complexity in the cellar over the coming decades.