Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2006

james_suckling98

Reviewed by: James Suckling

This is the wine of the vintage. It shows an amazing fruit character of ripe strawberries and orange peel. The length and linear style to the line of ultra-fine tannins is glorious. It goes on for minutes after tasting it. What great structure and length. Superb. Even better in 2020.

james_suckling98

Reviewed by: James Suckling

This is the wine of the vintage. It shows amazing fruit character of ripe strawberries and orange peel. The length and linear style to the line of ultra-fine tannins is glorious. It goes on for minutes after tasting it. What great structure and length. Superb. Better in 2020.

james_suckling98

Reviewed by: James Suckling

This fantastic Barolo of the 2006 vintage shows amazing fruit character of ripe strawberry and orange peel, and great structure. Its length and linear style is glorious; it goes on for minutes. Will be even better in 2020.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Monica Larner

Tasted from botte number 45, the 2006 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is gorgeous. Roberto tells me, “Monfortino is not a drinking wine, it’s a chewing wine.” His comment makes perfect sense and offers incredible insight into the profound beauty beholden before us. You almost feel the crunch of the young tannin and the snap of its presence in the mouth. The bouquet is perfectly matched to the wine. Elegance and finesse add contrast to the wine’s sheer power and determination. Dried rose, licorice, tar, spice and tobacco show immense definition and focus. The 2006 vintage is noted for its extraordinary aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045. There is something almost ecclesiastical about a cellar visit to Giacomo Conterno at the foot of Monforte d’Alba. Enter his gates and you immediately cross an imaginary threshold into a spiritual and sobering world. The winery has the feeling of a vast cathedral with soaring ceilings and open spaces. Impeccable oak casks, each beautifully varnished, line the cellar perimeters like a succession of small family chapels. Roberto Conterno glides slowly and steadily across the tiled floor as if he were a priest lost in a contemplative moment of prayer. He carefully wipes the spigots clean of each stray drop with a white handkerchief he keeps at his side. The official tasting of his wine is performed with the ceremonial precision and religious intensity of a First Communion. And, just as when Mass has concluded, there’s a subtle sense of relief when you finally step back out into the sunlight. Importers: Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404; The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2006 Barolo Riserva Monfortino, on the other hand, is a powerhouse. I haven’t tasted the 2006 much recently, as I know exactly what is in store: a huge, towering Barolo in need of considerable cellaring. Searing tannins give this dark, intense Barolo its distinctly brooding feel. Deep and massively structured, the 2006 is a Monfortino for the ages. I would be in no rush to open it.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

I often suggest readers who want to taste young Monfortinos do so right after release, as the wine often shuts down. Maybe it is the gorgeous London spring day, but the 2006 is wonderfully open and expressive for a young Monfortino. Today, the 2006 looks like a modern-day version of the 1999. The sinewy, muscular tannins ensure decades of magnificent drinking lie ahead. Tasted from magnum.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Sweet tobacco, mint, pine, mocha, wild flowers and leather are just some of the many notes that emerge from the stunning 2006 Barolo Riserva Monfortino. Exotic and aromatically expressive to the core, the 2006 finds superb depth and richness on the palate, all backed up by considerable structure. The 2006 is a huge, towering Barolo. As always, I suggest tasting the wine over the next few months or after age ten at the earliest, as it is likely to shut down hard sometime over the coming months. The 2006 is one of the most tannic Monfortinos in recent memory, right up there with the 1999 and 2002. Conterno fans will not want to miss this riveting, Barolo, a wine with few peers, some of them sitting in the Conterno cellar still unbottled.

vinous100

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

I won't be at all surprised if, given its massive structure, the 2006 Barolo Riserva Monfortino one day takes its place alongside vintages such as 1999 and 2002. A massive, full-bodied wine, the 2006 captivates all the senses with its sheer structure. At times, though, the 2006 also comes across as weightless and elusive, showing the dualism that makes great Barolo such a fascinating wine. This is a decidedly vertical Monfortino built on a huge frame of tannin. The aromas and flavors aren't fully expressive today. Instead it is the wine's pure density that leaves the most profound lasting impression. With that, the tasting is done, and with good reason. Where do you go from here?

vinous95

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep red. Classic Barolo nose offers medicinal cherry, plum, currant, menthol, dried flowers, wild herbs and tobacco. Then very dry and penetrating, with a pronounced tannins currently suppressing the wine's dried fruit flavors. This seemed to go into a shell in the glass. An essence of traditional Barolo but how long will this wine take to soften? Conterno told me that this very rich and tannic throwback wine might be bottled as late as 2014. Am I underrating this?

vinous97

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep red. Deep black cherry, blueberry and licorice on the nose. The palate offers incredible inner-mouth perfume, not to mention sweetness and depth of fruit. The wine's sheer concentration is nicely cut by juicy acidity, and its saline soil tones give it an uncanny tactile quality. The tannins are massive but completely supported by the wine's mid-palate material. One drinks the Cascina Francia but chews this. The yield here was around 30 hectoliters per hectare, notes Conterno.