Winemaker Notes
Enrico Serafino has expertise in producing Barolo spanning 140 years. Over that expanse of time, the winery has come to control more than 30 acres (12 hectares) of Barolo DOCG vineyards in the renowned areas of Serralunga d'Alba, Castiglione Falletto, and Monforte d'Alba. These communes are all in the part of Barolo with Helvetian soil, which gives full-bodied wines with great longevity. The name Monclivio refers to the hills in the Barolo region which are covered in steep vineyards.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a dusty nose with aromas of dark cherries, licorice, star anise and crushed rocks. Solid and compact on the palate, it has a medium to full body with refined, almost silky tannins and a deep core of fruit, making the wine both structured and succulent. Long and even. Better after 2028.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of sour cherry and medicinal herbs flow from the glass as dried pink roses waft out of the glass. The wine seems to be a subtlety waiting to emerge, with savory and tart red fruit flavors present but not forward, tannins are firm with a lifted and vibrant finish. Drink 2026 - 2040.
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.