Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a mesmerizing wine with flowers such as violets and roses. Leather undertones with bright red fruits. Peaches and some lemongrass, too. It seems to change all the time in the glass. Full-bodied, tight and complete with ultra-fine, powerful tannins that are just seamless and beautiful. The richness of flavors is incredible. Yet, subtle and reserved. Endless pleasure. Will age for ever. Upgraded from two years ago. Better in 2022
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is a perfect wine and there are few things I am more sure of in this life. This is an extraordinary creation that bursts from the glass with a level of distinct intensity and elegance that is nothing short of breathtaking. The wine literally evokes an emotional and deeply visceral reaction thanks to the lasting impression it makes on your heart, mind and gut. This Barolo opens to a delicate garnet color that is brightened with crystalline luminosity. The bouquet offers an immediate curtain-raiser with chiseled aromas of wild berry, licorice, white truffle and tar. That explosive start is followed by a mounting crescendo of complexity and nuance. The wine is extremely silky and polished in terms of mouthfeel and this helps to underline its impressive persistence. Bravo!
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Vinous
A rare bird, the 2010 is among the most coveted Monfortinos because of the reputation of the year and reduced production. It is one of the most austere Monfortinos in recent times, a Barolo I would not open right now. Its acid, tannin and fruit structure are those of a wine that needs time in bottle to blossom.
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Wine Spectator
The black cherry and plum fruit is accented by vanilla and toasty oak in this sleek, polished red. Lively and beautifully integrated, so give this time to absorb the oak. Shows fine length and a minerally aftertaste. Best from 2022 through 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.