1990 Barolo Monfortino Riserva
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Tasting notes
The 1990 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is pure and total seduction. Plush contours, ripe tannins and exotic fruit stain the palate. The 1990 offers a beguiling mix of old-school winemaking and an unusually warm, dry year, a combination that is so alluring. Hints of chocolate, worn-in leather, tobacco and incense linger on the resonant finish.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
An epic wine, the 1990 Monfortino is breathtakingly beautiful. At nearly thirty years of age, the 1990 is remarkably fresh, perfumed and nuanced. Hints of iron, smoke and leather develop over time, but it is the wine’s soaring aromatic intensity and balance that elevate it to icon status.
Tasted from magnum, the 1990 Barolo Riserva is monumental. Words are so inadequate to describe the wine’s profound, moving beauty. The 1990 is a complete wine. It is at times delicate, in other moments more powerful as it takes hold of all the senses and causes all conversation at the table to cease. Rich, exotic and gloriously ripe, but not at all overdone, the 1990 is flat-out stunning. Rose petal, mocha and red fruits of all kinds linger. It is fascinating to taste a wine from another era, a time when warm vintages were so coveted. Readers lucky enough to own it are extremely fortunate.
The 1990 Barolo Riserva Monfortino, in turn, was simply off the charts. Rich, vivid and totally alive, the wine flowed effortlessly with endless layers of fruit. A liqueur-like sweetness accompanied the fruit through to the long, intensely satisfying finish. What a wine!
About the producer
Giacomo Conterno is arguably Barolo’s most celebrated estate. While most famous for its Monfortino Riserva, the quality found in every bottling of Nebbiolo and Barbera at this address makes them a benchmark producer for both varieties.