Barolo 2006 - day 2

Super Serralungas !

After last night's belly full of Elio Altare's bread, Sicilian Terre Nere olive oil and wholesome array of vegetables, we were fighting fit for a day's tasting up and down the Barolo region, away from the comfort zone of La Morra and its refined, perfumed wines. We started off in the 'dark' corners of Barolo: At Azelia in Castiglione and Clerico in Monforte, followed by Giacosa in Neive and finally Sandrone in Barolo itself where they have made some extremely polished wines.

Some massive but excellent 2006s overall, Monfortes and Serralungas are not for the faint-hearted but the best examples have such great fruit, flesh and minerality to carry you through the explosive tannins of their young wines.

Just as Altare's Ceretta did yesterday, the Serralunga single crus impressed most, particularly the 2006 San Rocco from Azelia and the new vineyard from Clerico, 2006 Aeroplan Servaj (wild plain), as well as the Rocche del Falleto Riserva 2004 from Giacosa. That said Clerico's Monforte, Ginestra, was also a monumental effort.

Luigi Scavino of Azelia has made some excellent 2006s and a superb Voghera Brea Riserva 2004 (another Serralunga.) This is an estate that is starting to get showered with plaudits and deservedly so.

Apart from Azelia, the other highlight was Clerico. Despite the big structures, his wines have a clarity and precision that really put them at the top of Barolo's first division. A long tasting here finished with an incredible flight of 1992, 1998 and 1999 Pajanas, proving how sweet, spicy and seductive these big wines become with age.

The day ended, fittingly, on a bottle of Marenca 1998 from Luigi Pira of Serralunga, another excellent wine from this great commune. All sweet spice and liquorice but with sufficient mineral vitality.

Time to pull out the toothbrush, more tomorrow