Monfortino 1996

Author	Daniele Cernilli
Date of publication	14/10/11
Score	96/100 DoctorWine Award greater than 95
Denomination	Barolo
Awards
Value for money
Current price	0.00 €
Country	Piemonte
Nation	Italia

I open up the ’96. The cork comes out easily and one starts to smell a precise scent in the air. Veronelli used to call it “the breath of Barolo”, but I had never been aware of it in such an obvious way before. I pour the wine into large glasses, whereas they will be smaller for the ’61, which shouldn’t be exposed to too much oxygen, with all those years on its back. It is an intense garnet with a few orangey hints, and so bright that it seems to reflect the light and amplify it. I swirl it in the glass – just a little – and then sniff it. It doesn’t take long for it to express itself. What strikes one is the way it has remained intact, with clear-cut fruity and floral notes, without a hint of oxidation or heaviness. “How many ’96 Barolos are already decrepit” I think to myself. Here there are violets, wisteria perhaps, roses, raspberry preserve and an incipient smoky note. In a few years’ time it’ll be like tar, but you can already sense the way it’s going to evolve. I take a sip, just to prepare my taste buds; then another small one. I am immediately aware of the tannins, which then become more dilute and give way to a brackish acidity – very typical of Monfortino – that accompanies the taste right through to the finish. It body is slender and fairly linear, but not sharp; indeed, it has a glycerine-based roundedness that makes the wine well-balanced and silky, and which increases its persistence on the palate. It is still young but already drinkable.

My rating? Let’s say 96, but with room for improvement: it could reach 98, but not 100. The finish is long but not interminable.

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