November 22, 2014 - Absolutely epic bottle. Everything that is kind and lithe and smart and detailed and reticulated. Basalmic and licorice and truffle and moss. Tremendous sweetness on the palate. Decanted five hours @mareanyc. Really beyond points
I always hesitate to use balsamic as a descriptor as it can give a negative connotation but I absolutely love that aroma in wine.
Nothing wrong with this wine. Beyond the flatulent points and lemming speak
It’s that good. Binary scale 1. And basalmic
Awesome. These are the types of notes that cost me money.
The only scale that matters.
A wine I have to drink one day.
+1 
I passed on these back whenever they came out (2008? 2009?) as I couldn’t believe that great wine could be made in such horrible weather. Seems like that was a big mistake.
FWIW if you got lucky in picking wines that were a declassified ‘best of what we had in 2002’, there were some charming wines that offered good value, and a nice change to the upward trend in ripeness/alc%
The Monfortino sounds a different beast though
The 02 is a monument to Monfortino’s heritage,Roberto’s skill and the hallowed CF dirt.
It is the most unusual Monfortino I have ever tasted…and the last that I bought…really remarkable!
Nice to see you drinking well & posting Dr. K. The '02 is not a wine for trophy hunters. It sounds fantastic.
This wine has been hard to find in the US for a while. Not as bad as 2004/1999, but close. If anyone’s interested, I saw Union Square Wines has one bottle available for $550: Giacomo Conterno - Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2002 - Union Square Wines
I don’t know anything about the merchant.
Thanks for the TN, Rob. Good to see you around these parts.
Great to hear, it’s a wine that every Barolo lover should experience, especially in the 2002 vintage. It’s amazing what a great producer can achieve with the right experience and good decision making, even in the most adverse conditions.
Amazing wine in a tough vintage = great winemaking skill and great terroir! I simply loved the 02 also last year and next year I will taste the 04 and I am looking forward to finding out if the wine is that much better or just different
This was truly monumental!
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2002 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (11/29/2013)
Impromptu lunch – 96 Salon, 02 Monfortino, 02 Jayer Gilles Echezeaux and etc. (Friend’s house): My first experience with this monumental wine. I had no idea what to expect. Surprisingly opaque for a Monfortino. Intense sweet dark fruits, black cherries, dried blackberries, roasted meat, rose, tar, basking spices and surprisingly strong note of balsamico. Excellent concentration, extremely sweet intense fruit expression, dense yet silky, bright acidity, sweet tannins and long finish. I was surprised by the intense sweet fruits and incredible concentration. There is a hint of VA expressed as strong Balsamic note. For me, this adds lovely sweetness and intensifies the fruit expression. This is a monumental wine with a long life ahead. (98 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker