Wine Advisor
Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Riserva Monfortino 1996
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
1996 G. Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino—Dark red. The 1996 Monfortino opens with a breathtaking nose that is to die for. Expressive aromas of leather, spices, cocoa, and roses gradually emerge from the glass. On the palate the wine displays masses of concentrated fruit that coat the palate with extraordinary length and expansiveness and with a purity of expression that keeps me coming back to wine time and again. Although it remains quite youthful and somewhat dominated by its structure, I am encouraged by its development. Perhaps we won’t have to wait decades to enjoy this wine at its prime. That said, my earlier drinking window (after 2006) appears to have been overly optimistic. This was a great showing by one of Barolo’s legendary wines from a legendary vintage. 97/drink after 2012, 02/06
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1996 Barolo Monfortino is an elegant, stylish, medium weight effort. (Not yet released) Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino —For the Monfortino, the best grapes are selected 2-3 days before harvest. Those grapes are then vinified separately, in an open top wood vat, without temperature control, for about 30 days. The 4-5 week fermentation/maceration time is believed to be the longest in the Barolo region. The wine is aged for a minimum of 7 years in large casks before being bottled. Conterno said that in 1996 he harvested a few days later than usual. (20 October) The 1996 Monfortino is simply awesome. Darker in color than the 1999 Cascina Francia, and with more developed flavors of roses, tar, cocoa, and eucalyptus, with a finish that seems to last forever. Tasting both wines side by side is a revelation; they are both subtle and intensely complex at the same time. 95 points/drink 2006-?
Reviewed by: Daniel Thomases
The 1996 Barolo Monfortino, just bottled, is a brooding, backward behemoth, which reminds me of the 1978 in its youth. An usually dark garnet for a completely traditional Barolo, its fabulously fresh aromas, plummy and spicy and redolent of roses, violets, graphite, and road tar, give way to a super-concentrated palate, massive and packed, dense and intense in texture and continuity. It is explosive on the development and finish, both mouth-coating and chewy yet nobly austere and with the length and kick which characterize the greatest of Barolo. I would not touch a bottle until 2010, and imagine that it will still be an extraordinary wine in 2035. Importer: Seth Allen, Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
I have always had a love affair with the 1996 Barolo Riserva Monfortino. Readers will find this hard to believe, but when the 1996 was released, it was widely available for those who knew where to look. I had the opportunity to buy a very large parcel in Europe, but ultimately only took a few bottles as I was still in graduate school and heavily in debt. As for the wine, the 1996 remains a towering, epic Monfortino with classically austere tannins and all of the energy that drives Barolo lovers crazy for these wines. It can be enjoyed now or cellared for as long as temperature and humidity keep corks in good condition.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Would you believe I had a chance to buy a large parcel of Giovanni Conterno’s 1996 Barolo Riserva Monfortino when it was first released? Well, I did, but I was in business school, full of debt, and although I still bought a financially irresponsible amount of wine, it was not enough. This bottle of the 1996 is simply moving in its beauty. Dense and powerful in the glass, the 1996 possesses enough pedigree to drink well for another 30 years. All the classic Monfortino signatures come through in an epic, deeply moving Barolo that represents another time at Conterno.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 1996 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is a fabulous example of what makes top-flight Barolo so compelling. Light on its feet and yet powerful, the 1996 is endowed with magnificent complexity and myriad shades of nuance that develop as the wine sits in the glass. A host of dried cherry, licorice, smoke and savory herb notes wrap around a core of intense, dark fruit. The 1996 is remarkably vivid and detailed for such a big wine. Classically austere and yet wonderfully deep, the 1996 is simply tremendous. Readers lucky enough to own it should be thrilled.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Sadly, the 1996 Monfortino is problematic. One magnum is corked and the other is slightly oxidized, which is a real shame, but it happens. Tasted from magnum.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 1996 Barolo Riserva Monfortino came across as far more harmonious, with a gorgeous, rich core of fruit that balanced the firm 1996 tannins with wonderful class. Of course wines go through periods of being more or less closed, but on this night the 1996 Monfortino was head and shoulders above the Cascina Francia, something that was far less obvious in vintages such as 1999 and 1990.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
We then moved into two of the region's top Riservas. It was fascinating to observe how the wines evolved in the glass. The 1997 Ca' d'Morissio was unquestionably the more appealing wine at the outset, but as time passed the 1996 Monfortino may have surpassed it with its greater complexity and delineation of aromas and flavors, a phenomenon I attribute mostly to vintage characteristics. Both offered the kind of exhilarating drinking experience that only a few of the world's wines can provide.1996 G. Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino – Dark red. The 1996 Monfortino opens with a breathtaking nose that is to die for. Expressive aromas of leather, spices, cocoa, and roses gradually emerge from the glass. On the palate the wine displays masses of concentrated fruit that coat the palate with extraordinary length and expansiveness and with a purity of expression that keeps me coming back to wine time and again. Although it remains quite youthful and somewhat dominated by its structure, I am encouraged by its development. Perhaps we won't have to wait decades to enjoy this wine at its prime. That said, my earlier drinking window (after 2006) appears to have been overly optimistic. This was a great showing by one of Barolo's legendary wines from a legendary vintage.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Moderately saturated medium red. Compelling aromas of dried fruits, fig and minerals, along with an exotic suggestion of apricot. Dense, thick and spicy, with a superripe hint of marzipan and powerful framing acids that currently dominate the middle palate. A classically styled, very tannic Barolo that's extremely hard to taste today. I would not be at all surprised if it eventually merited a score above my projected range.
About the Producer
Roberto Conterno took full control over the running of this famous estate just outside Monforte d'Alba, Piedmont, in 2003, when his father Giovanni Conterno passed away. Giovanni was the oldest son of the winery founder, Giacomo Conterno, and initially worked alongside his brother, Aldo Conterno. In 1969 the two sibling winemakers parted ways to create their own styles of Barolo. Roberto continues to practice the traditional winemaking techniques of the area, producing long-lived, earthy wines. The focus has been strictly on nebbiolo and barbera since their freisa and dolcetto vines were grubbed up. Roberto also stresses the importance of organic viticulture especially in the early years of the vines' growth. The estate is most renowned for its great Barolos, Cascina Francia and Monfortino Riserva. The latter is produced only in the very best of vintages and aged at least 7 years in large oak 'botti'. This is regarded as one of the finest Barolos produced today and by many as the finest wine made from Nebbiolo in the world.
1958(1)1961(1)1985(1)1990(1)1993(1)
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