The King Of Barolo: An Exceptionally Exciting Future For The 2013 Vintage

The King of Barolo, Italy's La Tâche, and a 2002 vintage with impressive returns, remarkably similar to the case for the 2013 vintage.

Monfortino: The Birth Of A King

Since 1908, the Conterno family has been behind Barolo wines. Giovanni Conterno owned a modest tavern in San Giuseppe, where he served wine made from grapes he purchased from local growers. The family had a deep passion for wine, and Giovanni's son, Giacomo, became involved in the production.

At that time, wines were primarily made to be consumed young, but after returning from World War I in 1920, Giacomo had a vision to create wine with exceptional aging potential—and thus, Monfortino was born.

For many years, Giacomo continued to buy grapes from local growers. However, in 1974, many of these growers began producing wine under their own names. As a result, Giacomo purchased one of the finest vineyards in the region, Casina Francia, which became crucial to the later success. Since 1978, fruit from Casina Francia has been used to produce a wine of the same name in good vintages. In extraordinary vintages, it became Monfortino—the first Barolo, the greatest Barolo, and later known by its nickname, "The King of Barolo."

More Than Every Second Vintage From The Top Vineyard Is Disqualified

With Monfortino, there are no bad vintages: Monfortino is simply the epitome of great vintages. In fact, less than half (46.5%) of all possible vintages since the first Monfortino from 1920 have actually resulted in a Monfortino release. This means that for over a hundred years, Conterno has chosen not to produce Monfortino in more than every other year, out of respect for the iconic name and the extremely high-quality standards.

Italy’s Equivalent To La Tâche? Here’s How Much Monfortino Is Produced

To put Monfortino's greatness into perspective, we can look at the Italian wine landscape, where only one other wine truly matches it’s greatness: Masseto. Masetto’s quality is sublime as well, and its price level is roughly the same (in Masseto's top vintages). However, the production of Maeto is slightly bigger, with approximately 30,000 bottles per vintage. In contrast, the 2013 Conterno Barolo Monfortino was produced in just 20,000 bottles.

If we look elsewhere in the wine world, Monfortino—with its limited production and extremely high quality—can be more aptly compared to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's La Tâche or Krug's Clos du Mesnil. The basic characteristics are similar, but there is a striking difference in price: a top Clos du Mesnil (e.g., 2002) costs around €1,750^*, while a great La Tâche (e.g., 2015) is closer to €6,500*. Your investment price for the 2013 Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva is €850^*.

*Price per bottle, excluding customs duties, taxes, and VAT, in full cases and perfect condition.

Barolo Monfortino – A Price Rocket on the Rise?

Not quite. At least, not yet. Although we are dealing with the absolute pinnacle of wine that a renowned wine nation like Italy can produce, Conterno's Barolo Monfortino Riserva has only delivered modest returns. According to the British wine exchange, Liv-ex, the last 10 vintages of Monfortino that have been on the market for at least five years have returned 33.8% over the past five years, which equates to an average annual return of 6.0%.

But how does this compare when the same calculation for the aforementioned La Tâche has delivered a significantly higher return, despite large corrections over the past two years?

Italy lags behind the great French wine giants in the fine wine world, such as Burgundy and Champagne. This is nothing new. However, they are on the rise, and since we started writing about this in 2018/2019, much has changed. But a paradigm shift of this magnitude does not happen overnight. Still, it is happening, and it is well underway.

Barolo is Made for Long-Term Aging – and Long-Term Returns

Barolo has a reputation for requiring incredibly long aging before it truly reveals its full and impressive potential. But once it does, it reaches a level of greatness—just like the finest Bordeaux wines when they reach their peak.

According to Wine Advocate, the 2013 Monfortino is expected to have a drinking window from 2025 to 2055. This means two things: first, it is only now entering its optimal drinking window, and thus, it is only now beginning to appear on the radar of wine connoisseurs around the world. Second, it has a long life ahead of it.

Just imagine being presented with a 2013 Monfortino in 2034—it would simply be a treasure.

What Does Old Monfortino Cost?

The 2002 Barolo Monfortino, like the 2013 vintage, received 98 points from both Wine Advocate and Vinous. According to wine-searcher.com, the lowest price worldwide for the 2002 vintage is currently almost double that of the 2013 vintage. And the 2002 vintage certainly didn’t cost anywhere near €850 before it entered its drinking window.

Meanwhile, the average offering price for the 2002 vintage, according to wine-searcher.com, has increased by 200.2% over the last ten years (11.6% annually on average). This is worth noting, as this rise occurred 10 years after the wine had already been in the bottle for 8-10 years. This is a scenario that resembles what the 2013 vintage is now facing.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

The greatest Italian wines will likely never surpass the top French wines in terms of price. However, it simply doesn’t make sense for a comparable French wine to cost 10 times as much as a wine from a region that is rapidly gaining recognition.

It's not a question of whether the price gap will close—it’s only a matter of when. And it won’t be the French jewels dropping to Italian price levels. With the 2013 Conterno Barolo Monfortino Riserva, you hold one of the absolute finest examples of what this surging Italian category has to offer. If you believe in the case for the best of the best, the greatest among the greatest, then this is where you want to be.

Younger Monfortinos haven’t delivered extraordinary returns in recent years, but the development of the 2002 vintage serves as a fantastic example of Monfortino’s stature—the case for 2013 is in every way comparable.

The last time we had the opportunity to offer Monfortino was in January this year. Back then it was also the 2013 vintage and the 33 available bottles were sold in an instant. Now there are only 27 bottles available.