Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2008

The wine in this vintage

2008 was a cool, late vintage, with harvest well into autumn, giving classic Barolos with lively acidity and particularly clear aromatics. In the 2008 Barolo Monfortino Riserva the season translates into a wine of great elegance and tension: rose, cherry, blood orange, tar and spice, a lifted, deep palate and fine yet present tannins. Robert Parker and Wine Spectator both scored it 97 points. More ethereal than muscular, it is a thoroughbred Monfortino now entering an opening phase that already brings pleasure, while keeping the resources to improve in the cellar for a long time.

The producer · Giacomo Conterno

Few names embody classic Barolo as completely as Giacomo Conterno. The story begins in Monforte d'Alba in the early twentieth century: Giacomo founded the business, his son Giovanni bottled the first Barolos, and his grandson, another Giacomo, created Monfortino in the 1920s, a long-aged selection that would become Italy's most legendary wine. In 1974 the family bought Cascina Francia in Serralunga d'Alba, a limestone amphitheatre that has supplied both the Barolo Francia and Monfortino ever since. Roberto Conterno, who joined in 1988 and now runs the estate, has added Cerretta and, in 2015, Arione, the cru bordering Francia, as well as the Nervi estate in Gattinara. The approach is uncompromisingly traditional: low yields, native yeasts, long macerations and ageing in large oak casks. The results are austere, profound Barolos built to last for decades, crafted with a near-obsessive precision that has made the house an absolute reference for collectors and Nebbiolo lovers worldwide.

Critics' scores

• 97 Robert Parker
• 97 Wine Spectator

Technical details

Producer

Giacomo Conterno

Region

Piemonte

Country

Italia

Type

Rosso

Vintage

2008

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

97/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0560108