Montiano Falesco, a vertical tasting (1)

The Merlot Montiano from Falesco Famiglia Cotarella has become an authentic classic known throughout the world by both experts and wine lovers.

If there is a wine that I have had the opportunity to follow close since its birth it is Montiano from Falesco Famiglia Cotarella. When the first vintage was produced in 1993, in an experimental and almost adventurous way, Riccardo and Renzo Cotarella were practically unknown. This even if Renzo was already managing the Castello della Sala winery of the Antinori family, where today he serves as CEO. And while today Riccardo is president of the national enologists’ association Assoenologi and a world renowned consultant, back then he was just getting his first stripes. Riccardo oversaw production at Falesco, which at the time was a tiny family estate, and then collaborated with wine cooperatives in the Orvieto area, with the estate of Count Vaselli and became the enologist for the Montevetrano estate of Silvia Imparato, in the Campania region.

The idea of producing a quality wine from Merlot grapes and using French barriques was quite a gamble and sparked a lively debate with many having their doubts, which they later had to retract. The first bottles reached the market in 1995, just a few thousands plus some magnum bottles, but the wine caught the immediate attention of Robert Parker, the famous American wine critic, who gave Montiano a stratospheric rating which resulted it having an unexpected sales success in the United States. Parker has always been a great expert of wines from Bordeaux, in particular Pomerol, the homeland of the great Merlot. This wine from the region of Lazio, apparently, reminded him of the organoleptic profiles of the great Pomerol reds and I have to admit that in several blind tastings I have seen top experts confuse Montiano with La Conseillante or with a Gazin, both from Pomerol.

When vintage 1994 reached the market is sold out easily and Montiano’s fame spread from the US to Italy and elsewhere. Vintage 1995 consecrated the wine’s success in the Italian press and in wine shops and after over 20 years everyone still talks about it.

Today Montiano is a wine star and continues to be made from grapes grown in vineyards near Lake Bolsena, close to Montefiascone, and matures for around a year (with the period varying depending on the harvest) in new French-oak barriques. And it is made using only Merlot grapes.

The Falesco winery now has two locations. The historic and smaller one remains in Montefiascone, in the region of Lazio, while the newer, much larger and more modern one is in Montecchio, which is in Umbria and a stone’s throw from Baschi and Castiglione in Teverina near the border between the two regions. The winery today is competently run by Dominga, Marta and Enrica Cotarella, the daughters of Riccardo and Renzo who are more like sisters.

Their line of production is quite vast. Aside from Montiano and the first estate wine Est Est Est Poggio dei Gelsi, there are the lines of Tellus, Vitiano and other splendid wines like Soente, based on Viognier, and Marciliano, a great red made from Cabernet Sauvignon, just to name a few. Falesco, now identified with the Famiglia Cotarella brand, has 390 vineyards and annual production is close to three million bottles.

Despite their vast production, Montiano remains the winery’s point of reference. It is a Merlot red that has literally redefined winemaking in an area that previously had not been seen as suited for such a wine. It is now an authentic classic, known half the world over by experts and wine lovers, who appreciate the fact that it does not cost an arm and a leg.

Tomorrow we will publish a vertical tasting of almost all the vintages produced, starting with 1996 and ending with 2015.