Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva 1974

opened aroun 1 pm when this showed quite some auburn coloring with a gentle rouge core - the nose is tight, leaning towards leather and herbs with a gamey edge and just a touch of maderization creeping in. In the mouth the wine is very large scaled, tight but packed with flavor, great acidity, menthol and cherry fruit, tannins really clamp down on the finish. the finish returns both savory and succulent. At aroun 8 pm this has only started to explode with intense menthol, limestone, beef jerky, smoked meats nose that is very layered, scortched earth. Wow this is great in the mouth, bright acidity, tannins read more...have integrated exceptionally well, not sign of the maderization i noticed earlier, sour cherry fruits that really gain sweetness over the course of the evening, another 74 that shows great sweetness in spite of it's austerity. Great flavor complexity with a gamy berry streak running through to the finish which shows a bit of wet animal and fig towards the end of the evening. I wish I had a case of this wine. Certainly can go another 10-15 years.    (hide)

March 2007