Winemaker Notes
An aristocratic wine that finds its match with game, hare, braised beef, chamois, venison, wild boar and deer. Also superb with dishes farnished with white Alba truffle, duck ravioli, and cardoon flan.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very floral with dried strawberries, plums and light toffee. Smoke, too. Medium to full body, velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. Turns polished and agreeable on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Monfalletto is a branded name that belongs to Cordero di Montezemolo. The 2013 Barolo Monfalletto really pushes the limits of this historic estate wine. It is one of the best editions made so far. This vintage shows a beautiful level of clarity and purity, with dark fruit layers followed by moist earth, autumnal leaf, eucalyptus and balsam herb. The bouquet is complex and fluid: it shows new sides and nuances with each swirl of the glass. The 2013 vintage offers ideal intensity and balance.
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Wine Enthusiast
Wild berry, aromatic herb, crushed blue flower and exotic spice aromas lead the way in this full-bodied wine. It delivers ripe but elegant Marasca cherry, cranberry, licorice and vanilla hints framed by taut, fine-grained tannins that lend structure and finesse.
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Wine Spectator
Eucalyptus, rosemary and juniper aromas and flavors make this red more savory, with sweet cherry, leather and spice notes in the wings. Finishes on the firm, astringent side. Best from 2019 through 2028.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.