Will anyone buy 2016 Monprivato?

I think the price have increased a lot compared to 2015?

Someone will.

I bought it. Also the 2010

I bought 1 bottle to taste for curiosity purposes. I don’t buy Monprivato but I bought a bottle of ‘15 to taste a few months ago and thought it was pretty good in the context of the vintage. So it’s possible they are turning the corner.

I highly doubt I’ll be a buyer over $200 but never know. I also don’t own any Monprivato since 2007 and don’t know who is buying them the past few years at $150, so I just don’t get the market. As for the ‘16, no professional reviews so could be really great or really disappointing.

+1

I bought or perhaps I should say preordered it and wholesale pricing here in the metro NY area came out 33% above last years 2015 price for those wondering WTF happened.

Slightly OT.

I was actually looking for information on G. Mascarello yesterday and so I ended up bumping an old thread on the 2010 Monprivato. I was just trying to look for the thread that explained the rationale why G. Mascarello quality dropped from 2010 onward in the eye of a certain wine critic. I unfortunately could not find that thread and would appreciate if someone here could chime in who knows the answer. From what I remember, it was an issue of some vines being re-planted and impacting the overall quality, I am not sure. Would prefer answers with more substantial sources rather than some vague rumor / memory (like in my case).

I drank the 2014 last year (blind) and it was the lightest Monprivato I have ever tasted, at first I had a hard time picking it out as Barolo, let alone Monprivato. It was a very pretty wine, very accessible and delicious to drink, it just wasn’t what I usually associate young Barolo / Nebbiolo with. To be honest it did give me some concern about how this particular wine would evolve in the next 20 years, but again it was an off vintage, so take my notes with a huge grain of salt.

Hi Joel,
I hope this is the article you are looking for…

Thanks! I guess in the end, no one still really knows for sure what changed.

Probably the same reason Giacosa went through a spell from the late 00’s…

I’ve had the 2010 twice, maybe three times, within a year of two of release. I never understood the conversation around the quality dropping from 2010 onward and couldn’t help but think it was more to do with the critic than the wine. The 2009, to my palate and especially in youth, was a mess when compared to the more classically styled 2010, and yet for some reason the drop off is from 2010 onward?

On the plus side the lack of critical acclaim in the US market has helped keep costs down worldwide when compared to some of the other top tier traditionalists eg Bartolo and G. Rinaldi…

The article in question had been written by Eric Guido for Morrell in NYC; when Eric left to go to Vinous the link went dead.

I was very impressed by a bottle of the 2010 I was served at the winery in 2016 that had been open six days(!):

The buzz has been pretty negative through at least 2015. 2016 people say is back - and the price is up accordingly. I had the 2011 tonite and I think its a lovely bottle of wine. But then I think Giacosa 08s can be a good bottle of wine also. While qualitatively not as good as previous or post-off vintages still very enjoyable. The delta between the pleasure and the discount makes them v good values.

Have you seen anyone comment who’s tasted the 2016? I hadn’t seen any notes, professional or otherwise. As I noted I thought the 2015 was pretty good. Not one of the best wines in 2015 by any means, but pretty good for the vintage. Galloni’s review of the 2014 was pretty good. Not much written about these wines these days.

I had a bottle of the 2008 Riserva Barolo on release, and it was dynamite. I was really perplex as Antonio thought the wine was very awkward and disjointed, and said the wine had been problematic since he tasted it in barrel. Made me question my pallet for a while! I need to revisit it, as his last note was far more recent than mine.

What are the sources of all this supposed negativity about Monprivato that everyone is whispering about in this thread? This is the first I’ve heard of it.

Young Monprivato is very hard to assess, and not in the way of pretty much all other Barolo. It is deceptively light and simple, seeming like you are tasting some $20 wine, before somehow transforming into what mature Monprivato becomes. Having wasted a couple of bottles that way (I remember the 1999 specifically – how I wish I had that bottle back now), I don’t bother and just lay them down for 15+ years, though pricing has me about at the end of my run buying these now.

The pricing is a shame as a lover of these wines. When I got into them with the late 90s vintages, they were something like $60, and you could sometimes find them cheaper. But that’s how supply and demand works.

I agree with your general point, but it is interesting that you bring up the 1999. I opened a bottle of 1999 Monprivato sometime around 2006, when it should have been exactly as you describe. Instead, it was one of the great wine experiences of my life. After a full day of decanting, it was singing at dinner. Paired beautifully with duck prepared three ways. Marked the beginning of my fascination with Nebbiolo, which continues to today. Goes to show there are no hard and fast truths when it comes to wine, and poor choices sometimes work out marvelously.

Galloni rated 2010 to 2013 Monprivato all below 90 points. This critic usually gives very high scores but in essence panned those 4 vintages.

Not saying I agree, but you did ask what this was about.

Also the Eric Guido vertical retrospective which he did at Morrell (i.e. prior to Vinous) noting he believed there were changes that changed the wine’s constitution (if I recall, without claiming it was better or worse, just saying it was different).