2014 Barolo Percristina

Going back 10 years in time, the Domenico Clerico 2014 Barolo Percristina has a leading mineral note of wet granite, river stone or crushed alpine rock. It lifts to make room for dark fruit and sweet clove. This wine shows elegant tertiary notes of dried tobacco and wilted rose. It's hard to imagine how this aged Barolo improves beyond where it is now. With time in the glass, it shows licorice and garrigue. Only 1,800 bottles exist.

From their oldest vineyard, Mosconi. It has spent one year in barrique, five years in one large, 4,000-litre cask (as Domenico Clerico used to do) and then five years in bottle. They made this wine in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and so on. Named for the Clericos’ daughter who died at the age of 15. The first real vintage was 1996. They skipped 2002, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2018, generally dictated by quantity rather than quality. Very complex nose. Very toasty and a style that somehow splits the difference between this and last century’s. Yet another successful wine from a controversial vintage! (JR)

The 2014 Barolo Percristina is spicy and surprisingly dark-fruited for this rainy and cool year, with smoky incense, olive, leather, and red cherry. It is powerful in its concentration but remains elegant, with cedar, rosemary, and truffle. Potent and long, it grasps all the senses. This will not be released until next year, and it is proving to be a fantastic wine from a vintage written off by many.