Wine Advisor
Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is pure excitement. The bouquet alone is alluring, but then the wine begins to open up on the palate, revealing extraordinary depth. An explosion of fruit follows as dark berries, mint, roses, incense and tar flesh out in all directions. Huge, powerful tannins frame an extraordinary finish. This is going to be a thrilling Monfortino to follow over the coming years and decades. Anticipated maturity: 2028-2048. Roberto Conterno’s 2008s capture the best qualities of the vintage. They are intensely perfumed and impeccably refined. These will be fascinating wines to follow over the coming years. As for the rest of the wines in cask, they are pretty spectacular, too. Today I am most optimistic about the 2010s, but there seems to be no shortage of great wines aging in this historic cellar. Readers who want to get an early impression on 2010 will want to check out Conterno’s Barbere, which are shaping up beautifully. Importers: Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404, The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is one of my favorite recent vintages. It is the product of an exceptionally long and cool growing year marked by a highly unusual cold snap at the very end of the season. Those conditions yielded a Monfortino that is pure silkiness and sensuality, with striking aromatic presence and exceptional balance. There is an exoticism to the 2008 that is impossible to miss, while the impression is of tannins that are virtually non-existent. The 2008 was such a complete wine right from the outset that Roberto Conterno decided to bottle it with six years in cask as opposed to the more typical seven.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
I don't think I have tasted a more refined Monfortino than the 2008. The aromatics alone are pure seduction. Weightless, refined and silky on the palate, the 2008 is all about finesse rather than power. Sweet cherry, plum, rose petal, lavender, dried herbs and spices are all beautifully delineated in the glass, but it is the wine's soaring personality that makes the deepest impression. Two thousand eight is an unusual year. An unexpected cold snap arrived in late October that extended the season while presenting the conditions for the grapes to develop extraordinary perfume. This fruit was harvested on October 31 and November 1, late even by Conterno's standards. The 2008 spent six years in barrel (rather than seven) and therefore one additional year in bottle before being released. I would not be surprised if Conterno makes the same decision for some vintages again in the future. The 2008 Monfortino is pure seduction.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is remarkable in its precision and overall beauty. Dried rose petals, flowers, mint, tobacco, cedar, licorice and dried cherries are laced together in a fabric of nearly indescribable finesse. The signature of 2008 is a cold snap in October that delayed the harvest and left many wines with an intense perfume and sweetness that is highly unusual in young Nebbiolo but that is often seen in truly epic years such as the 1982s or 1989s with bottle age. Roberto Conterno gave the Monfortino six years in cask, as opposed to the more typical seven, given the wine's mid-weigt structure. Indeed, what emerges from the glass is a delicate, lithe Monfortino built on elegance rather than power. Conterno compares the 2008 Monfortino the 1979, a fabulous Monfortio from a long forgotten vintage that, sadly, I have not tasted in a few years. In more modern terms, the 2008 Monfortino possesses a level of sweetness that is reminscent of some of the great Giacosa Collina Riondas. Although the 2008 will age effortlessly for decades, it also should start to drink well sooner than most vintages.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Monfortino is one of the most hauntingly beautiful young Barolos I have ever tasted. Wild flowers, spices, orange peel, menthol and dark red stone fruits are some of the many notes that flesh out in the glass. The 2008 is like biting into a candy that is hard on the outside and impossibly sweet on the inside. I imagine the 2008 will age beautifully, even if it is a Monfortino built on finesse rather than power. The 2008 spent six years in cask, as opposed to the more typical seven, and will be released in 2015.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is pure excitement. The bouquet alone is alluring, but then the wine begins to open up on the palate, revealing extraordinary depth. An explosion of fruit follows as dark berries, mint, roses, incense and tar flesh out in all directions. Huge, powerful tannins frame an extraordinary finish. This is going to be a thrilling Monfortino to follow over the coming years and decades.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright medium red. Deeply pitched, soil-driven aromas of very ripe red fruits, flinty minerality and spices. Then incredibly thick but without any heaviness in the mouth, with superb layered richness to its very ripe cherry and raspberry fruit flavors. Best today on the endless finish, which features noble tannins and is nearly impossible to scrape off the palate. This barrel had not been racked for two years when I tasted it, and was obviously developing at a snail's pace. Should be great.
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.
