Remains the most fruit-deficient widely admired wine I know.
This one had enough fruit, tonight, to be very good. Beautiful expansive nose and the palate is some dark cherry on top of tar, mint and rose. Very nicely structured, big but elegant and lean.
The moderate fruit expression makes all the difference in the world. $138 at Antonio Quattro Uomini cellarraider night.
Piemonte: Truffles instead of Turkey; 11/23/2023-12/2/2023 (Barolo, Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte and of course Alba): This is always one of my most favorite wines and while I appreciate everything Fabio does this one is particularly unique and special. There’s more herbal style to it. A touch drier. Still quite pretty and yet here I feel it is the fruit and the herbs that come together and create an even more interesting wine. I used the word spectacular a few times in my notes. Perhaps again - spectacular.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP at Red Hen in DC. Drank over 2 hours. Boy, am I glad I have a lot of these to enjoy over the years! So far, I've been very impressed with the '19 vintage of Monvigliero. It's much brighter and smoother than other recent vintages, and it possesses the refined level of acidity that I love in Barolos. While it doesn't have the depth of the '16 Monvig, it still possesses all the consistent qualities of these Burlotto bottlings. I would put the '19 just behind the '16, and a notch or two above any other vintage I've had the pleasure of enjoying over the past few years. 96
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Translucent, pale strawberry, cherry, cherry pits, a light veil of fine tannin. Finished with drying tannin and bitter cherry pits. Tasted about its 14% without any sign of heat. Reminds me of a more ethereal 2016 Vajra BDV I remember in youth. Haunting, beautiful, elegant.
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The '19 Monvigliero was impressive and super aromatic, quite a contrast to some other '19 Barolo which I have found to be quite austere. On the palate, I thought the '19 was a bit stricter, but the aromatics are so pretty right now that it'd be a shame to miss out on trying a bottle now before letting the remainder rest.
The nose really soared out of the glass with red strawberry fruit, fresh tropical and blood orange fruit, wild herbs, candied red floral tones, menthol, and herbal tea. It has those signature, exotic Burlotto Monvigliero aromatics, with the one thing I didn't note in this bottle being the olive tapenade note that I got in a lot of prior vintages. The aromatics here are so unique, but having tasted the '19 Alessandria Monvigliero the night before, there is common ground as the red fruit, red floral, and mint notes are the core of both wines. The Burlotto's aromatics have a number of more exotic notes in addition to this red fruit, red floral, and mint/menthol core.
On the palate, the wine is medium in body with quite a bit of tannic heft by this wine's standards, but the tannins are very finely grained. There is a clear stem influence immediately, with wild herbal tones on entry, with sweet red floral and strawberry notes along with tropical fruit notes coming later. The wine is a touch lighter on the palate than you'd expect in this vintage / compared to the aromatics, lacking a bit in terms of concentration vs. what I recall of the 2016. Sweet red floral, herbal, and exotic spice notes linger on the finish.
The '19 Monvigliero is a great wine, although based on this single glass at least, I think it falls a bit short of the complexity & concentration of the 2016 vintage.
One remark I thought of when tasting this wine is that, a "knock" on the Burlotto Monvigliero is it seems to taste largely the same every year, as opposed to say Bartolo Mascarello, where the wine always seems to reflect the vintage's characteristics clearly. That's a crazy thing to knock Burlotto for, because the quality of this wine has been so high each year, including in difficult years like 2018. But I think the stem influence here is so unique within Barolo, and so influential to the aromatics, that it overwhelms many of the vintage differences. It'd be interesting to do a vertical of this wine to test this theory.
I only got to enjoy one glass of this amazing juice since this was a friend's bottle. This was very open within the first 30 minutes in the glass, especially compared to other Barolos in the 2019 vintage. This wasn't as much of a bright punch full of strawberry cream as I'm used to with the Burlotto Monvig. The red fruits had a nice tannic structure framed by crushed rose petals, mint tea leaves, and pipe tobacco. The last sip was the best. I only got to enjoy one glass, but this seemed to have all the structure to age beautifully for the next few decades. I'm excited to follow this and see how it improves over the years. 96
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is exceptional. Light red and highly translucent, just so delicate and precise, this could be the best bottle of Barolo I’ve ever tasted with only 4 years of age. Unbelievably light and pretty, but still so powerful! Ultra fine tannins and crunchy red fruit. Very fun to drink this wine right now, but I hope I can save one to drink again in 10-15 years.
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank at the winery. liquorice, balsamic, rose, strawberry, such soft/velvet tannins, well balanced, very long, foot pressed. Such a complex yet elegant wine, amazing!
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Energetic and playful aromas that has a great structure. Roses, stone, balsamic, orange, leather, some stable. Full-bodied, fresh and energetic wine with wonderful fruit of field strawberries, other lighter red berries, spices, herbs, mint, tar and licorice. .Long rocking finish. Delicate. Simply a sublime wine!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The lightest of the Baroli in color. A lung filling yet fleeting nose. Strawberry and cherry fruit, tapenade, roses, and cooling green herbal notes on the nose. This is the iron fist in a velvet glove. Intense yet seemingly fleeting. Expansive yet weightless. A sapid, incredibility complicated, effortlessly harmonious wine. Seamless, graceful, and brilliant are three words I wrote while tasting. A complete wine. Wonderful. Bravo! 98+
Piemonte: Back to the truffling!; 11/24/2022-12/3/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Another really lovely version of this wine. Perhaps because we had had some Chinato the previous day in a more fruit peel and floral version I got some of that same sense here. Orange peel and herbal and potpourri and background of cinnamon. Maybe a hint of mulling spice. Very fragrant and very lovely. All crispness and precision and classic. It is another very special wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/5/2023 - diggydan wrote: 94 Points
Remains the most fruit-deficient widely admired wine I know.
This one had enough fruit, tonight, to be very good. Beautiful expansive nose and the palate is some dark cherry on top of tar, mint and rose. Very nicely structured, big but elegant and lean.
The moderate fruit expression makes all the difference in the world. $138 at Antonio Quattro Uomini cellarraider night.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
11/30/2023 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Piemonte: Truffles instead of Turkey; 11/23/2023-12/2/2023 (Barolo, Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte and of course Alba): This is always one of my most favorite wines and while I appreciate everything Fabio does this one is particularly unique and special. There’s more herbal style to it. A touch drier. Still quite pretty and yet here I feel it is the fruit and the herbs that come together and create an even more interesting wine. I used the word spectacular a few times in my notes. Perhaps again - spectacular.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/17/2023 - connorpksmith Likes this wine: 96 Points
PnP at Red Hen in DC. Drank over 2 hours. Boy, am I glad I have a lot of these to enjoy over the years! So far, I've been very impressed with the '19 vintage of Monvigliero. It's much brighter and smoother than other recent vintages, and it possesses the refined level of acidity that I love in Barolos. While it doesn't have the depth of the '16 Monvig, it still possesses all the consistent qualities of these Burlotto bottlings. I would put the '19 just behind the '16, and a notch or two above any other vintage I've had the pleasure of enjoying over the past few years. 96
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2023 - SARED Likes this wine: 95 Points
Translucent, pale strawberry, cherry, cherry pits, a light veil of fine tannin. Finished with drying tannin and bitter cherry pits. Tasted about its 14% without any sign of heat. Reminds me of a more ethereal 2016 Vajra BDV I remember in youth. Haunting, beautiful, elegant.
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/2/2023 - Robmcl920 Likes this wine: 95 Points
The '19 Monvigliero was impressive and super aromatic, quite a contrast to some other '19 Barolo which I have found to be quite austere. On the palate, I thought the '19 was a bit stricter, but the aromatics are so pretty right now that it'd be a shame to miss out on trying a bottle now before letting the remainder rest.
The nose really soared out of the glass with red strawberry fruit, fresh tropical and blood orange fruit, wild herbs, candied red floral tones, menthol, and herbal tea. It has those signature, exotic Burlotto Monvigliero aromatics, with the one thing I didn't note in this bottle being the olive tapenade note that I got in a lot of prior vintages. The aromatics here are so unique, but having tasted the '19 Alessandria Monvigliero the night before, there is common ground as the red fruit, red floral, and mint notes are the core of both wines. The Burlotto's aromatics have a number of more exotic notes in addition to this red fruit, red floral, and mint/menthol core.
On the palate, the wine is medium in body with quite a bit of tannic heft by this wine's standards, but the tannins are very finely grained. There is a clear stem influence immediately, with wild herbal tones on entry, with sweet red floral and strawberry notes along with tropical fruit notes coming later. The wine is a touch lighter on the palate than you'd expect in this vintage / compared to the aromatics, lacking a bit in terms of concentration vs. what I recall of the 2016. Sweet red floral, herbal, and exotic spice notes linger on the finish.
The '19 Monvigliero is a great wine, although based on this single glass at least, I think it falls a bit short of the complexity & concentration of the 2016 vintage.
One remark I thought of when tasting this wine is that, a "knock" on the Burlotto Monvigliero is it seems to taste largely the same every year, as opposed to say Bartolo Mascarello, where the wine always seems to reflect the vintage's characteristics clearly. That's a crazy thing to knock Burlotto for, because the quality of this wine has been so high each year, including in difficult years like 2018. But I think the stem influence here is so unique within Barolo, and so influential to the aromatics, that it overwhelms many of the vintage differences. It'd be interesting to do a vertical of this wine to test this theory.
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
10/2/2023 - connorpksmith Likes this wine: 96 Points
I only got to enjoy one glass of this amazing juice since this was a friend's bottle. This was very open within the first 30 minutes in the glass, especially compared to other Barolos in the 2019 vintage. This wasn't as much of a bright punch full of strawberry cream as I'm used to with the Burlotto Monvig. The red fruits had a nice tannic structure framed by crushed rose petals, mint tea leaves, and pipe tobacco. The last sip was the best. I only got to enjoy one glass, but this seemed to have all the structure to age beautifully for the next few decades. I'm excited to follow this and see how it improves over the years. 96
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2023 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is exceptional. Light red and highly translucent, just so delicate and precise, this could be the best bottle of Barolo I’ve ever tasted with only 4 years of age. Unbelievably light and pretty, but still so powerful! Ultra fine tannins and crunchy red fruit. Very fun to drink this wine right now, but I hope I can save one to drink again in 10-15 years.
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/8/2023 - Swintonblade Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at the winery. liquorice, balsamic, rose, strawberry, such soft/velvet tannins, well balanced, very long, foot pressed. Such a complex yet elegant wine, amazing!
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2023 - Andre Brattland wrote: 96 Points
Energetic and playful aromas that has a great structure. Roses, stone, balsamic, orange, leather, some stable. Full-bodied, fresh and energetic wine with wonderful fruit of field strawberries, other lighter red berries, spices, herbs, mint, tar and licorice. .Long rocking finish. Delicate. Simply a sublime wine!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2023 - cct wrote: 98 Points
Tasting with Fabio
The lightest of the Baroli in color. A lung filling yet fleeting nose. Strawberry and cherry fruit, tapenade, roses, and cooling green herbal notes on the nose. This is the iron fist in a velvet glove. Intense yet seemingly fleeting. Expansive yet weightless. A sapid, incredibility complicated, effortlessly harmonious wine. Seamless, graceful, and brilliant are three words I wrote while tasting. A complete wine. Wonderful. Bravo! 98+
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (4)
1/29/2023 - AWBryce wrote:
Olive brine, orange peel, raspberry, complex palate is excellent, tannic, bursting w flavour. V nice
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Piemonte: Back to the truffling!; 11/24/2022-12/3/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Another really lovely version of this wine. Perhaps because we had had some Chinato the previous day in a more fruit peel and floral version I got some of that same sense here. Orange peel and herbal and potpourri and background of cinnamon. Maybe a hint of mulling spice. Very fragrant and very lovely. All crispness and precision and classic. It is another very special wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment