1996 Barolo Monfortino Riserva
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The 1996 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is total class. What a wine. It’s also one of the first Monfortinos I tasted on release. Deep layers of spiced, mentholated and balsamic notes enshroud a core of dark Nebbiolo fruit. Gravel, incense and licorice emerge over time, rounding out the picture of a classic, old-school Barolo like those of decades past. Unforgettable.
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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.
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.
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.
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.