Domenico Clerico, Barbera d'Alba, Trevigne, 2004

I've had this screwball twice in the past, when I found it overextracted. I thought I'd wait a year and opened it some four months ahead of schedule, out of boredom.

It's not overextracted now so much as out of sorts. The nose has settled down and though cloaked by oak, there's nice spicy red fruit that's should have been given center stage. Instead it has to struggle and I don't think the Barbera grape appreciates that kind of hardship. It starts out relatively soft on the palate - in a skewed way, the palate feels limp and under-concentrated after the attack on the nose - but then finishes with hard tannins that weren't really softened by food.

Steroid wine, not my cup... of anything.

Imported by WineRoute, sold for around 120 NIS if my memory serves me.

Comments

Joe said…
I had the 2001 twice over the past year and I wouldn't say it was over the top - who knows, different vintage, maybe a few extra years in the cellar? Anyway, based on your comments I am not sure if time will save this '04...