1999 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino

Community Tasting Notes (68) Avg Score: 95.9 points

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  3/24/2024 - BradE wrote:

  Decanted for three hours, and drunk over five. Good to very good, but never moved into the great zone. A friend, asked for decanting advice, advised me to “open the 1993 and save the 1999 for another decade”. That was good advice.

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  12/24/2023 - johnh1001 wrote: 95 Points

  Drank over two days. Quite dense and somewhat closed. But budged a little bit on day 2. Loads of dark fruit and asphalt. Great depth and symmetry. I expect this needs many more years to open.

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  11/4/2023 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Conterno vs Rinaldi; 11/4/2023-11/5/2023: The ‘99 Monfortino is a wine for the ages. It remains very youthful, and kept getting better throughout the evening with air. The best days are ahead, but I found this bottle more expressive than my last in 2020.
  
  While initially reserved, with air, the nose was explosive with dark red to black cherry and plum fruits, dark red floral tones, roasted meats, tar, and sweet spices. On the palate, the wine is massively concentrated and high in acidity, while the tannins are quite finessed and integrated. I found dark red and black fruit, tar, dark red florals, tobacco, roasted meat and sweet spices, so dense but super expressive later in the evening.
  
  This seems like a wine that could go for several decades if well stored, but with air, it was beautiful right now. This is an old school wine with a bit less finesse and precision than the ‘08 Monfortino served alongside it, but if you like classic Barolo this is about as good as it gets.
  
  This bottle was opened at 2PM and quickly double decanted, served around 8 PM, and continued to improve throughout the night.

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  11/1/2023 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 95 Points

  E&R's Prequal to 25: Nebbiolo: The only one of the older bottles I have that I was looking to checkin with that was actually in tact... thank god! The aromas here are super elegant and massive, showing so many layers of beauty... the expression is full, rich and round, and very typically Monfortino. The palate texture was soft, round, and very elegant, showing beautiful composure and richness. On the nose and palate, this wine is pure bliss, and shows the kind of elegance, fruit and earth balance, and weight that top Barolo can achieve. Not to be missed, though, is the tannin profile which remains very strong on the palate. Similar on the finish, we still have a massive wall of tannins and much tighter here than the nose or palate offered. For me, the finish is where the wine still shows you its on its climb up its evolution, not yet at the plateau. Wonderful to check in with, but I'll hold mine for at least another decade. 95+

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  11/1/2023 - KeithAkers wrote: 97 Points

  Prelude 25-an E&R Nebbiolo joint (E&R Wines, Portland OR): Yes Yes Yes. Oh glory be. This is a Monfortino in full flight showing off why it has the pedigree it does. The nose is so layered and complex that it is the nasal version of Alice in Wonderland as it fills the painfully small glass with beautiful tones of cinnamon, sour red cherries, raspberries, some balsamico notes, violets, spices, roasted herbs, licorice, crushed rocks, earth notes, sweet tobacco, tar, and a touch of juniper berries. The Full bodied feel is seamless and layered with tart, high acidity and silky, high tannins that have begun to really integrate. I only wish I had a full bottle in front of me and my own little private space to just let this be. Can it age longer? Of course it can. Does it need to? Honestly, not really. It will need some air, but this is what I came for and it's firing on every cylinder I can ask for.

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