Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2000 75cl

Conterno?s 2000 Barolo Riserva Monfortino explodes from the glass with a luxurious, expansive personality that leaves me speachless. Endowed with generous ripe fruit, it is a seamless, seductive Monfortino that possesses incredible length as well as purity in a style that perfectly encapsulates the qualities of the vintage. With air, suggestions of roses, cocoa, tar and anise emerge to complete this magnificent expression of Barolo from Serralunga. Despite its seemingly approachable personality this wine has plenty of underlying structure. I suggest tasting the wine as soon as it appears on retail shelves as it is almost certain to shut down at some point in the near future. As for the magical question: When will the wine be ready? Looking at other warm vintages, the 1985 is peaking but has plenty of life ahead of it, and the 1990 is still an infant, so my best guess is that the 2000 will start drinking well around age 20, but personally I am not sure I will have the patience to wait that long. Low yields, a long fermentation time of 4-5 weeks with no temperature control and seven years of cask aging remain the rule for Monfortino. The string of Monfortinos spanning 1996 to 2001 (and possibly 2002) must surely be a record. I can?t think of another estate in the world that has produced six consecutive vintages of this profound quality. The 2000 Monfortino ranks slightly behind the 1999 and 2001, but that may be splitting hairs at this very high level. It is another stellar effort from Giacomo Conterno. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030.

Dark ruby red in color. Subtle and reserved on the nose, with blackberry, tea, sandalwood and blueberry. Opens to coffee and vanilla bean. Full-bodied, with an amazing, condensed palate of ultraripe fruit and silky tannins. Fresh and superlong. Very tight and fresh. Needs so much time to open and come around. Like a genie in the bottle. Best after 2014. 750 cases made. ?JS