Antonio Galloni has reviewed more releases from Barolo for Vinous and was ‘blown away’ by the latest vintage of Giacomo Conterno’s Riserva Monfortino.
- Giacomo Conterno’s 2015 Barolo Riserva Monfortino was scored 99-points in a recent review by Antonio Galloni.
- The majority of scores were centred on the 2017 vintage.
- Galloni cautioned it was a ‘tricky’ vintage that required careful selection.
Having already approached the 2017 Barolo vintage earlier this year, Antonio Galloni recently published a follow-up covering the late releases on Vinous.
As he had stated earlier, 2017 is a ‘tricky vintage’ and while many wines are ‘gorgeous’, others ‘are disappointing’.
Giacomo Conterno’s ‘incredibly distinctive’ Barolo Arione and ‘rich and explosive’ Barolo Francia were the highest scoring 2017s in his review, both rated 97-points.
The other leading 2017s can be seen in the table above.
Top-scoring wines
Alongside the 2017s, Galloni also reviewed a number of wines from older vintages that have been released as well.
It was two of these older wines that received his best-rated scores; Conterno’s 2015 Barolo Riserva Monfortino and Roagna’s 2013 Barbaresco Crichët Pajè.
He scored the Roagna 98-points, saying it ‘brings together so many of the elements that make the Roagna wines so compelling today’ and much was much more ‘finessed’ than the hugely tannic versions of the past.
His real praise though was reserved for the Riserva Monfortino. Originally rated 95-98, Galloni has now awarded the 2015 99-points, calling it ‘magical’ and a ‘flat-out stunner in every way’.
The 2015 is also interesting in that it includes fruit from more than one vineyard for the first time since 1978, and has had a much reduced time in barrel – just five years.
*made using the Liv-ex charting tool
Conterno’s Riserva Monfortino is currently the most-traded Piedmontese wine this year (by value), led by demand for its 2014 and 2013 vintages (see chart above).
Both wines have been rated 100-points by Galloni and have Market Prices of £9,205 and £8,272 (12×75) respectively.
The 2015 has a Market Price of £10,500 (12×75), with offers at £2,821 to £3,333 per three.
Although just short of the ‘perfect’ scores of the two preceding vintages, this is a highly sought-after wine. With confirmation that there will be no 2016 and rumours of several other vintages being passed over, this may be the last Monfortino the market sees for some time.
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Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 530+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £80m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines. Independent data, direct from the market.
