Roberto Conterno showed me a wide range of wines during my most recent visit. Conterno shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it is quite the opposite; the pace of innovation has never been faster. Work on an expansion to the Monforte cellar is slated to begin shortly. At Nervi, the renovated winery melds tradition with innovation to a degree that is breathtaking. As if that were not enough, Nervi now boasts a world-class restaurant, with a wine list to boot. In terms of the wines, the 2017 Barolos are unbelievably elegant and refined. They are also incredibly expressive of site. The 2015 Monfortino, the first to include fruit from Arione, is even better from bottle than it was from barrel. I also tasted the 2018 Gattinaras from Nervi. They are exceptional. A little bird told you.
The Barolo Monfortino Giacomo Conterno is a true legend on the Italian wine scene and beyond, it is a bottle in demand all over the world, absolutely capable of standing up to the great French reds of Burgundy or Bordeaux. It is an extremely long-lived wine, able to challenge the years and be enjoyed even after decades.
It was produced for the first time in 1924 as “Barolo Extra” from Giacomo Conterno’s idea to produce an important wine with a long aging that would be produced only in the most promising vintages, the name Monfortino comes from the town where the winery is located, Monforte d’Alba, the same place where the grapes came from to produce it. Since 1978 it has been produced only with the best grapes from the Vigna Francia di Serralunga d’Alba, the same cru from which Barolo Francia and Barbera Francia are made.
Barolo Monfortino Conterno is produced only in the best vintages, a few days before the harvest Roberto Conterno meets with his collaborators in the Cascina Francia vineyard and selects the best plots of the vintage, whose grapes, about a third of the vineyard, will be harvested separately and vinified separately. The first fermentation takes place in 61 hectolitre oak vats, with long maceration even with the cap submerged, as per tradition. Subsequently the liquid is moved into large wooden barrels, mainly of Austrian origin, where after malolactic fermentation, it refines for about six years before bottling.
The Barolo Monfortino Riserva has a bright and clear garnet colour, the nose is absolutely territorial: dog rose, violet, cherry, undergrowth and a myriad of other notes perfectly integrated with each other, in the glass we find the real Langa. The taste is mystical, it conquers your palate with power and refinement, the persistence is very long, a wine that never ends.
Barolo Monfortino is certainly one of those wines that you have to try at least once in your life. Immense and immortal.
