Tasting Notes
Vinous 96.5/100
The 2015 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is not only outrageously beautiful, it also marks a new era in the wine’s history where Monfortino is once again a blend from more than one vineyard. Between 1978 (the first year of production at Francia) and 2014, Monfortino was a single-vineyard wine. Following his purchase of Arione in 2015, Conterno set aside part of that fruit for Monfortino. I tasted the 2015 from its separate components (Francia and Arione) and there was simply no question that the blended wine was better and more complete than either of two components, which is one of the main reasons Barolo was traditionally made from a blend of sites in the first place. Powerful and imposing in the glass, with tremendous textural richness, the 2015 is a total stunner. Everything seems amped up in the 2015: aromatics, fruit and acidity. What a captivating wine it is.
