Famiglia Cotarella spotlight
The official Famiglia Cotarella channel presents Rosso Montiano, the 100 percent Merlot flagship grown on volcanic Lazio ground.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2020 Famiglia Cotarella Falesco 'Montiano' Lazio IGT Italy across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $67.35 and the average is $75.28. Our slash is $63.00.
2020 Famiglia Cotarella Falesco 'Montiano' Lazio IGT Italy
Riccardo Cotarella's volcanic Lazio Merlot, barrique polish and black fruit, a 2020 you can open at sixty-five dollars.
The 2020 Montiano is 100 percent Merlot from Montefiascone and Castiglione in Teverina: blackberry, blueberry, ripe cherry, sweet spice, now $63.
The Merlot that made Lazio feel possible
Montiano is not anonymous international Merlot. Volcanic ground around Montefiascone, new Allier and Nevers barriques, and a Cotarella texture that lands plush without losing its spine. Monica Larner found cherry, blackberry, tobacco, and barbecue spice. Eric Guido at Vinous called the 2020 impossibly long. This is the flagship to buy like a cellar wine.
The house
Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella founded Falesco at Montefiascone in 1979. Their daughters now run Famiglia Cotarella. Montiano remains the flagship red.
The wine
100% Merlot. Stainless ferment, malolactic in barrique, 12 months in new Allier and Nevers. 15% ABV. Vineyards around 300 meters.
The scores
Wine Advocate 94. James Suckling 93. Vinous 93+. Falstaff 94.
The drinker
Black fruit and spice first. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Roman oxtail or roast lamb.
Black fruit, sweet spice, a volcanic line
The winery points to blackberry, blueberry, and ripe cherry with sweet spice. Larner added tobacco and barbecue. Suckling found blackcurrant, minerals, dark chocolate, and toasted oak, still refined. Guido had crushed black raspberry, blood orange, and incense, then a chalky violet close.
A sun-kissed Merlot year that still kept balance. The 2020 is generous, polished, and built to drink now through the mid-2030s.
Blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, blackcurrant, incense, sweet spice.
Full, 15% ABV, silky tannin, 12 months new barrique, a volcanic mineral line.
Tobacco, dark chocolate, black olive, a long staining close. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Volcanic Merlot, then new French barrique
Montiano is grown around Montefiascone and Castiglione in Teverina at about 300 meters, on volcanic soils rich in very fine gravel. The 2020 sheet lists Guyot training and an average vine age of 16 years. Fruit is hand-selected, fermented in stainless steel, then moved to new Allier and Nevers barriques for malolactic and 12 months of elevage.
Larner noted that the 2020 starts in new barriques that later pass into the Sodale program. That is a flagship oak brief: first-fill wood for Montiano, then a second life for the next wine.
Serve 60 to 64 F. Decant the better part of an hour. The 15 percent alcohol is real. Air is for perfume, not a rescue.
The red that changed the Lazio conversation
Montiano first appeared in the early 1990s and quickly became one of the defining modern reds of a region easier to associate with Rome and white wine.
The Cotarellas treated Merlot not as a shortcut to softness, but as a vehicle for volcanic soil, selection, and modern cellar precision. Riccardo's consulting fame is part of the story. The bottle still has a local accent.
In 2017 the sisters rebranded Falesco as Famiglia Cotarella so the name on the label matched the family in the cellar.
The 2020 is that flagship in a generous vintage: plush, spicy, mineral, priced so a six-bottle move feels practical.
Go Roman: oxtail, lamb, rosemary, tomato
Montiano wants a slow braise, lamb, celery, garlic, wine, and enough acidity or umami to keep the Merlot feeling polished.
Two plates. One Roman oxtail stew. One roast lamb with rosemary and garlic.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Open while the stew simmers.
Coda alla Vaccinara
Roman oxtail with tomato, celery, and wine. Gelatin-rich and savory.
Why it works: The braise softens tannin. Celery, tomato, and spice pull tobacco and black cherry forward.
View Recipe for coda alla vaccinara (opens in a new tab)
Abbacchio alla Romana
Lamb with garlic, rosemary, wine, vinegar, and anchovy umami.
Why it works: Lamb loves Merlot's dark fruit. Rosemary and vinegar lift the sweet spice and mineral edge.
View Recipe for abbacchio alla romana (opens in a new tab)Put Montiano in the cart
Volcanic Lazio Merlot, Wine Advocate 94, sixty-five dollars against a $90 typical retail.
Put six in the cart. This is the Cotarella flagship to drink with a Roman braise and to hold for tobacco, spice, and a softer middle.
