Vinous Monfortino Dinner with Roberto Conterno

Vinous hosted a vertical of Monfortino with Roberto Conterno attending. The wines were all sourced from a collector in Italy who purchased the wines from the winery, largely or entirely I believe on release, so provenance was as good as it gets.

This was the most consistent dinner involving older wines I have ever been to, a testament to the winery and the provenance of the bottles. There were some older bottles that seemed off or didn't show well, but fewer than at most of these events, and for the wines that were sound, the consistency of quality is remarkable. That all said, I still found myself preferring the younger wines. The quality at Conterno seems to skyrocket around the 2002-2004 vintages, with the '02 one of my favorite wines, but maybe the '04 being the first vintage where the wine resembles current release.

Summary of some takeaways for me:

1. Almost all the wines had an incredible sense of freshness / vibrancy, I think partly due to the very high acidity level. My perception at least was that the acidity level of these wines is higher than the average top-tier Barolo, especially in warm vintages like 2015 where I've found a lack of acidity and freshness in some other producers' wines.

2. In most vintages, I find the wines to show a very attractive blend of savory characteristics and fruit. Iron or blood, leather, roasted or raw meats, etc. are notes I found in a number of wines, even more recent vintages like 2010. The fruit profile of Monfortino to me is typically pure red cherry fruit, with some exceptions (i.e., 2015 where the fruit tones are darker, and some of the older vintages like '78 and '71 where I also found darker fruit).

3. While I suppose it's common knowledge, Conterno really does outperform in the tougher vintages. The 2002 was one of the highlights of the evening in my opinion, having so much fruit that it's hard to believe. The 1979 was spectacular, and I'd argue better than the other wines from that period from more heralded vintages like 1982 or 1985 (at least these bottles). The 2014, while one of the tighter wines today in my opinion, has such finessed tannins and sweetness to the fruit. And the '15 is crazy good for that year, which at least at other wineries, produced wines that are often good but lack a bit of vibrancy in my opinion.

4. My personal opinion is that the best wines of the night were recent vintages. Starting with the 2002, every subsequent vintage served ('02, '04, '08, '10, '13-'15) is a near-100 point wine to me. The 2004 didn't show as open tonight as the last bottle I had in 2020, but is full of potential and is the first Monfortino to feel as polished (i.e., in tannin quality and purity of fruit) as the most recent vintages. The 2010 to me is a perfect wine and so expressive, as it has been each time I've tasted it. The 2008 is an exotic, highly perfumed version of Monfortino unlike any other. The 2013 is austere and highly tannic, an old school wine in a way, but so promising; and as I said above, I found the '14 pretty closed off, but with a combination of power, sweetness, and finesse that's hard to believe.