Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Demonstrating the meticulous precision for which the estate is known, the 2019 Monfortino is a thoroughbred. I was able to taste it on a couple of occasions during its maturation, after the blend of Francia and Arione was made. Since bottling last spring, it has retreated into itself and now just hints at black tea, truffle and dark wet earth. The tannins are still rigid and stubborn, though very sophisticated and inextricable from the fruit, while the acidity is simply salivating. Glimpses of baked earth, granite and graphite appear, but truly, this will take years to unfold. For now, it’s all iron fist. The yet-to-be-bottled 2020 which I tasted alongside will likely be approachable long before this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
It's been a while, alas. The last vintage of this legendary wine was 2015. Skipping forward to a year of natural richness and concentration, the Giacomo Conterno 2019 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is a magnificently executed wine. It carefully reins in the soaring power of Nebbiolo and whittles it down to extreme finesse and precision. This is the essence of the grape with no extra bells or whistles. Roberto Conterno tells me he chose not to make Monfortino in 2016 because he considered 2015 to be a superior vintage. (There is an image problem with 2015, he concedes, because 2016 was more consistent overall than 2015; however, his experience with 2015 is better.) The 2017 vintage was a contender for Monfortino, but the wine was not made. The 2018 vintage also came close to production, but a lack of diurnal temperature shifts at the end of the growing season disqualified it, Roberto Conterno explains. His heart settled on 2019, a vintage that reminds him of the tension and energy found in 2013. However, the DNA of the 2019 vintage is slightly different because this edition sees 27% fruit blended from Arione. This site adds finesse and elegance. The rest of the blend represents a special selection from Francia, and that is where this wine gets its power and age-worthy tannins. The 2019 will be released in October 2025.
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.