2020 Cordero di Montezemolo Monfalletto Barolo 750 ml

Cordero di Montezemolo’s Monfalletto Barolo has been one of our best-selling Barolos ever, and each time we offer it, it earns glowing member reviews: The last three vintages have averaged over 4.5-stars, putting Montezemolo on par with some of the most expensive names in the Piedmont.

Our members love this wine for a simple reason: The amount of earth-and-spice intricacy Cordero di Montezemolo has packed into a sub-$50 bottle is simply incredible—and the 2020 is from one of the best vintages of the decade.

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.” 

The highest point of Cordero di Montezemolo’s property, which is EU certified organic, is a Lebanon Cedar tree so iconic in the region that the Italian Air Force uses it as a point of navigation. Rows of Nebbiolo vines radiate down from the tree, the grapes for Monfalletto coming from 15- to 50-year-old plantings that enjoy advantageous southeast and southwest exposures. 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. 

The family vinified the 2020 in separate lots, then aged it in both French and Slovenian oak for 18–24 months. After blending, bottling, and another year in the cellar, this Barolo has classic red-fruit aromas that step in stride with notes of red rose and orange peel. The palate is dense and multidimensional, packed with a wall of plum and spice, girded with iron tannins that beg for time in a decanter or the cellar.