Winemaker Notes
Intense ruby red with orange reflections. Bouquet of ripe fruit nose of currants and raspberries with hints of violet. Flavor is balanced with silky, sweet tannins, excellent structure and a long finish.
This wine pairs well with red meats, braises and medium to long-aged cheeses made with cow or sheep milk.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Loads of dried flowers on the nose with dark fruit, such as ripe strawberries and plums. It’s full-bodied with super integrated tannins that give a dusty texture and creaminess. Flavorful finish of fruit and hazelnut with some smoke.
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Vinous
The 2017 Barolo Le Coste di Monforte is an attractive, but surprisingly delicate wine from this Monforte site. Bright red-fleshed fruit, chalk, lavender, rose petal and blood orange fill out the layers effortlessly. The tannins are a bit gritty, but otherwise this is nicely done. There's good freshness here, and plenty of verve, too. Best after 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Aromas of cherry, strawberry and plum are joined by flavors of eucalyptus, iron and tobacco in this powerful red. Feels open initially, then astringent tannins clamp down on the finish. There's plenty of fruit here though.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Understated on first nose, the Pecchenino 2017 Barolo le Coste di Monforte lacks the precision that is delivered in cooler vintages than this one was. I'd go with a medium-term drinking window and don't expect too much complexity. The bouquet delivers cherry cola and dried plum aromas with tarry spice. There is more bite or crunch in the mouth, thanks to acidity and structure.
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.