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Ok... here’s one for the books!  It was hard enough to get Vietti’s coveted 2020 Monvig when it first arrived just about a year and a half ago. We had to sell it in horizontal sets with all the other of Vietti’s single vineyards, a bottle at a time. So it was a real surprise to hear of a small parcel of just the Movig, and a spectacular price at that. You don’t have to ask me twice!  The producer needs no introduction here…we’ve been selling Vietti at PRIMA since the 1980s and their ravishing Barolos are always a hit, whenever we open one- no matter how old it is.  But the Monvigliero is a relatively new wine for them- since the 2018 vintage.  The vineyard is now widely considered to be one of Barolo’s very best. Its location, at the far north of the appellation near the hamlet of Verduno, is one of the coolest, best-ventilated spots in the entire Barolo growing area while the south-facing amphitheater of vines is one of the region’s best exposed.  Over the past decade, there has been a veritable gold rush in the vineyard with wineries like Oddero and Vietti staking their claims alongside old standbys like Burlotto, Diego Morra, Paolo Scavino and Fratelli Alessandria.  The super power of Monvig is its elegance.  The Barolos produced from these vines are rarely monstrous or tannic, rather they exhibit an uncommon svelteness of character, incredible nuance and rare polish. I’ve heard one taster say of another wine produced from Monvig that it was like ‘Margaux crossed with Vosne-Romanee.’ The aromatics are always scintillating and the palate as subtle and charming as the Nebbiolo grape ever gets.  Vietti’s 2020- an excellent vintage for this kind of wine- is outrageously good, even now. We got star anise, cinnamon and a multitude of dusty florals on an ultra-complex bouquet and a mid- to full palate that was like pure silk.  Yet the energy level is impressive and frames the flavors beautifully.  It’s a Vietti.  It’s a Monvigliero.  And, don’t ask me how, it’s priced $75 a bottle less than when we last sold it.

Wine Advocate, 95 points: A relatively new departure for Vietti, the 2020 Barolo Monvigliero is soft and delicate with pretty floral aromas, dried iris, powdered spice and a hint of tar or road pavement. The inaugural vintage was 2018. Made with 60% whole-cluster fruit during fermentation, the wine has a moment of tartness, punchy highlights, sweet grenadine and cranberry jelly. It ages in large oak casks for 24 months. Production is 6,754 bottles.