2017 Cordero di Montezemolo Monfalletto Barolo

The amount of earth-and-spice intricacy Cordero di Montezemolo has packed into this 97-point bottle is simply incredible. Intense red-fruit aromas fall in stride with notes of red rose and orange peel, leading to a dense, multidimensional palate with strawberry, spice, and velvety tannins, showing why Wine Advocate praised the Monfalletto’s “focus on the inner purity of the Nebbiolo grape.” 

Cordero di Montezemolo is in La Morra, one of Piedmont’s most renowned Barolo villages. For 19 generations now, the Cordero di Montezemolo family has presided over a historic parcel that Antonio Galloni called “one of the most picturesque properties in all of Piedmont.” It’s one of the few estates in Barolo that covers contiguous vineyards—a rare occurrence, since many wineries draw Nebbiolo from an assortment of different sites. Selected from the estate’s best plots, the Monfalletto provides a perfectly polished snapshot of the family’s exquisite estate. 

At the highest point of the organically farmed property is a cedar of Lebanon so iconic in the region that the Italian Air Force uses it to navigate. Rows of Nebbiolo vines radiate down from the tree, the grapes for the Monfalletto coming from 15- to 50-year-old plantings that enjoy southeast and southwest exposures. The vines dig deep into clay and calcareous soils that impart gorgeous elegance and complexity. Separate lots are aged in both French and Slovenian wood for 18-24 months before blending, bottling, and another year of cellaring. 

The 2017 Monfalletto is simply outstanding. We’ve loved this estate’s overperforming Barolos for years, and there’s no better bottle to show why.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2042
• % Nebbiolo
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork