Wine Advocate: 90 pts
The Montalbera 2018 Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato Laccento offers an interesting combination of licorice, zesty fruit, red currant and balsam herb. This is a distinctive wine that veers from savory aromas to some sweet tones of candied almond and dried apricot. I could see this wine pairing with a delightful North African tajine in which meat is stewed with either preserved lemon or prunes. Production of this wine is 89,000 bottles. On the close, the wine is lean and crisp.