Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2013

james_suckling99

Reviewed by: James Suckling

Warm aromas of plums, rose petals and spices with hints of sandalwood. Some tar. Full body, dense center palate with glorious fruit and a fantastic finish. Very, very polished and fine tannins. Vertical and deep. A great Monfortino. Try in 2023.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Monica Larner

I have been tasting this wine from barrel for the past two years and now finally, abracadabra, the 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is safely housed in bottle. The wine was bottled in June of last year and will hit the market this upcoming October. The Barolo Francia was not produced in 2013 because Roberto Conterno diverted all fruit from that vineyard to this wine. Monfortino was not produced in 2011 or 2012, meaning that this 2013 edition follows directly after the absolutely stunning 2010 vintage (which earned a perfect 100-point score). The two vintages (2010 and 2013) are very similar, strikingly so, but the 2013 vintage registers at a slightly lower structural threshold. The tannins are slightly looser, or softer in the case of this wine. With up to six years in botte, the 2010 vintage is still crunchy and super sharp, while this wine is slightly more succulent and earthy. Some 20,000 bottles, 2,500 magnums and 400 three-liter bottles were made.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Monica Larner

I've been closely following the 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino for a few years now with annual tastings of the wine from barrel at the Giacomo Conterno winery in Monforte d'Alba. The last time we saw this wine was in 2010, and I readily gave that edition a perfect 100-point score. Monfortino was not made in 2011 or 2012, so this is the next available vintage. We can expect a finished wine ready for commercial release at the tail end of 2019. My impression of the wine now (one year later from the last barrel tasting) is that it has firmed up significantly in terms of structure and backbone. You can almost hear the crunch as you bite into the fresh and fruity fiber. That unique Monfortino crunchiness makes me think we can safely extend the drinking window on this modern day Italian icon.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Monica Larner

Roberto Conterno is giving us two back-to-back vintages of Monfortino, all Monfortino. He considers 2013 and 2014 to be similar vintages from a structural point of view. The 2014 vintage is perhaps more tannic compared to the softer 2013. Tasted from barrel, the 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is experiencing fast evolutionary changes at this moment in its young life. These wines undergo six to seven years of aging in large oak barrel, so the evolutionary increments are slow and steady over the course of time. The barrel I tasted is evidently coming together in seamless fashion. The wine is underlined by an undying sense of firmness and deep inner integrity. It has a strong backbone, and you can taste the rich fruit and spice nuances that lean on that structure for support and balance. I look forward to tasting the finished product.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is another huge, tannic wine. Crystalline and so precise, the 2013 is deceptive, as the aromatics are quite inviting, until masses of tannin hit the palate. Tar, rose petal, spice and cedar open with a bit of time in the glass, showing just enough to make the wine pleasurable today. Even so, the best is clearly yet to come. Patience will be rewarded.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is brilliant, precise, focused and nuanced, with the classic sense of austerity it has always shown from barrel. In the 2013, readers will find a biting, vibrant Monfortino built along super-classic lines that includes vintages like 1996 and 1999, but the 2013 has more finesse that is the result of a the slight refinements and evolution that have taken place here over the last decade. In 2013, Roberto Conterno bottled the entirety of his Barolo production from Francia as Monfortino.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is a huge, towering wine marked by serious fruit intensity and a backbone of firm, classically austere tannins. Certainly next to the 2014 and 2015, the sheer tannic clout of the 2013 is impossible to miss. Sage mint, tobacco and dried flower notes add striking shades of aromatic nuance, but the 2013 is ultimately distinguished by its huge, potent personality. It is sure to thrill those who own it for many decades to come. In 2013, Roberto Conterno did not bottle his Barolo Francia. Instead, he chose to use all of the fruit for the flagship Barolo Monfortino, which up until the present, he had only done once before, in 2002.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

Conterno's 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino has really come together over the last few times I have tasted it. The tannins, once ferocious, are now beautifully woven into the wine's vivid, seamless fabric. Scents of sweet red cherry, plum, mint, hard candy and wild flowers add beguiling aromatic intensity, but it is the wine's total sense of finesse and balance that are most impressive. Like the 2008, the 2013 is shaping up to be a Monfortino of sensuality and grace more than of power. From cask, it has been positively stunning on the several occasions I have tasted it recently.

vinous99

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino has developed beautifully since I last tasted it from cask. As a younger wine, the 2013 was intensely tannic and powerful, but the last year in cask has given the wine an extra dimension of finesse and nuance. Bright floral notes and beautifully articulated fruit are some of the signatures. I will not be surprised if Conterno ultimately decides to bottle the 2013 after six years in cask (as opposed to the more typical seven) as he did with the 2008.