2008 Barolo Monfortino

The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is one of my favorite recent vintages. It is the product of an exceptionally long and cool growing year marked by a highly unusual cold snap at the very end of the season. Those conditions yielded a Monfortino that is pure silkiness and sensuality, with striking aromatic presence and exceptional balance. There is an exoticism to the 2008 that is impossible to miss, while the impression is of tannins that are virtually non-existent. The 2008 was such a complete wine right from the outset that Roberto Conterno decided to bottle it with six years in cask as opposed to the more typical seven.

I don't think I have tasted a more refined Monfortino than the 2008. The aromatics alone are pure seduction. Weightless, refined and silky on the palate, the 2008 is all about finesse rather than power. Sweet cherry, plum, rose petal, lavender, dried herbs and spices are all beautifully delineated in the glass, but it is the wine's soaring personality that makes the deepest impression. Two thousand eight is an unusual year. An unexpected cold snap arrived in late October that extended the season while presenting the conditions for the grapes to develop extraordinary perfume. This fruit was harvested on October 31 and November 1, late even by Conterno's standards. The 2008 spent six years in barrel (rather than seven) and therefore one additional year in bottle before being released. I would not be surprised if Conterno makes the same decision for some vintages again in the future. The 2008 Monfortino is pure seduction.

The 2008 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is remarkable in its precision and overall beauty. Dried rose petals, flowers, mint, tobacco, cedar, licorice and dried cherries are laced together in a fabric of nearly indescribable finesse. The signature of 2008 is a cold snap in October that delayed the harvest and left many wines with an intense perfume and sweetness that is highly unusual in young Nebbiolo but that is often seen in truly epic years such as the 1982s or 1989s with bottle age. Roberto Conterno gave the Monfortino six years in cask, as opposed to the more typical seven, given the wine's mid-weigt structure. Indeed, what emerges from the glass is a delicate, lithe Monfortino built on elegance rather than power. Conterno compares the 2008 Monfortino the 1979, a fabulous Monfortio from a long forgotten vintage that, sadly, I have not tasted in a few years. In more modern terms, the 2008 Monfortino possesses a level of sweetness that is reminscent of some of the great Giacosa Collina Riondas. Although the 2008 will age effortlessly for decades, it also should start to drink well sooner than most vintages.