Barolo Riserva Monfortino vertical 1995-2006
Tasted Tuesday, September 20, 2016 by Collector1855 with 916 views
Introduction
No matter how popular Masseto, Solaia, Ornellaia & Co. are or will be, they are made from French grapes (Bordeaux blends) and therefore can never pass as pure Italian wines. It is the offerings made from Nebbiolo and Sangiovese that are Italy's true Icons. At the top of the Italian pecking order stands the Barolo Monfortino from Giacomo Conterno. This fact can be seen by its ever increasing demand and price in the secondary market (the next close follower is probably the Soldera, a Brunello/Sangiovese offering from Tuscany). I am not a deep connoisseur of Italian wines so I asked a friend of mine who is, to co-host the event and invite some die hard Nebbiolo fans from across Europe to attend. Finally we also had the pleasure of the presence of an MW, whom I coincidentally went to high school with, who gave us his thoughts. A worthy crowd indeed for this special vertical. The bottles were opened several hours before the tasting and slow-oxed in the host's the wine fridge.
My impressions can be summarized as follows:
1.) The wine is very aromatic, complex and intriguing like the very best Nebbiolo are, low oak, great length
2.) The wine is very structured. Brooding, masculine, dark, lots of tannins, very good mouth fill but never heavy. For my taste the tannins are often a touch too rustic and I don’t think this has anything to do with age (see my comment on aging below). I feel many Monfortino are made in the style of the Bordeaux 1986, a vintage that stayed rustic till today. Structurally I therefore prefer the Bartolo Mascarello, Rinaldi Brunate style.
3.) The Monfortino quality over the vintages is very consistent. Even the 2003 Cascina Francia where the house decided not to produce the Monfortino was in my opinion actually good enough to pass for a Monfortino
4.) Despite popular belief, we noticed that Nebbiolo does not age as linear and consistent than the best CabSav. Several of the bottles have developed slight oxidative notes which reminded me of the aging process of Rioja. My personal taste preference has very low tolerance for these Madeira/lovage notes. As soon as it appears even slightly I don’t like a wine anymore. One reason I rarely drink Rioja or aged Vintage Champagne. However, other people my have a higher tolerance for this as we also noted during the evening.
Finally, Barolo being a great food wine, the Monfortino went very well with the outer-worldly truffle risotto my friend and co-host prepared after the formal tasting. An evening to remember it sure was.
1995 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Medium garnet. Nose of dark fruit, earth with a noticeably overlay of Maggi beef stock and an oxidative note of lovage. This oxidative side suggest to drink this up. Other than that, the wine was structurally very appealing.
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1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Another vintage that already shows light notes of Maggi beef stock and lovage in the background hinting to age related start of oxidation. Good mid palate presence with great freshness despite the slight Madeira notes.
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1997 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 96 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Right next to the 1998 the difference could not be stronger. This is very classic offering, more restrained and cool with aromas of spices, rose petals, red fruit and earth. Racy acidity and elegant palate.
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1998 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 96 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The first wine that impressed us. Dark garnet. Expressive nose with aromas of ripe fruit, plum, gingerbread. There is a richness to this wine stemming from warmer vintage it feels. Full bodied and succulent with good freshness.
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1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Medium-light garnet with brick rim. Expressive and complex nose of tar, tobacco, spices, clay. Elegant palate with very good balance between all components. It did however develop and oxidative notes around lovage after 2h in the glass.
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2000 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino Flawed
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Unfortunately badly corked. The structure and acidity beyond the TCA suggest that this is another solid offering. For another day then.
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2001 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Medium garnet, brick hue. Similar to the 97 and 05 this wine felt like it came from a cooler vintage. Aromas of cut hay and eucalyptus intermixed with tobacco, red fruit and flowers. Elegant palate as well. A very strong showing.
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2002 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 96 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Dark garnet. Expressive nose of ripe dark fruit, tobacco, spices. This was quite rich and had less a sense of place but had very nice mid mouth presence due to its density. I found the tannins also rounder here than elsewhere.
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2003 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 94 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Since Monfortino was not produced in 2003 we decided to include this bottle in our vertical. A pleasant surprise. Nose of red fruit, earth, tar and spices. On the palate there is no sign of the 2003 heat wave. The wine remains fresh and drinkable. The tannins are a bit rustic and the aromatic length not at the level of the better Monfortinos. All in all a very nice wine and this could even pass as a lesser vintage Monfortino in my opinion. One can on only commend the winery's high bar of quality not having done so.
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2004 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 98 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The strongest wine of the evening. It possessed the aromatics of the cooler vintages which intermix eucalyptus notes together with the typical Nebbiolo aromas of roses, tobacco, earth. At the same time it has a very tightly knit palate that provides excellent mouth feel with strong but good quality tannins. A very convincing Barolo; one can see why Galloni gives it a three digit score. 98+
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2005 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 96 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
I loved the aromatics of this wine very much. Next to the typical Monfortino aromas of red fruit, earth, roses there is a note of fresh cut trees, cedar and pine needles. Very nice complexity. Unfortunately the quality of the tannins (a bit too rough) prevent an even higher score.
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2006 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 97 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Right next to the 2001 and completely different. A massive Monfortino. Rich and ripe with aromas of plum, dark fruit, tobacco and licorice. I like the generosity of the fruit that buffer the massive Nebbiolo structure. 97-98
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