Many producers of Barolo have come to the fore in the last two decades, arguably the Golden Years of the wine style, often on the basis of their modernist approach in the vineyard and in the winery. Giacomo Conterno has risen to international repute on account of its distinctly traditional ideas over what a Barolo should be – ‘undrinkable’ when bottled but a great wine after decades of cellar age.
The Cantina came into being in the years immediately after WW1, Giovanni Conterno being amongst the first small producers of the region to sell wine in bottle, wines destined for ageing, in contrast to the more usual sales from cask for immediate consumption. Giovanni’s son Giacomo cemented the mould, creating the celebrated Monfortino riserva, a wine with vast ageing potential, sold alongside a normale for general drinking. Until the late 1970s both styles were made from bought-in grapes.
In 1961 Giacomo’s two sons Giovanni and Aldo formally took over the enterprise, the older Giovanni already responsible for winemaking. Eight years later Aldo parted company to establish his own wine estate. In 1974 Giovanni Conterno acquired the 16ha Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba, a terroir that from 1978 provided all of the fruit for Conterno’s wines, including the flagship Monfortino. As a consequence Cantina Giacomo Conterno became Azienda Vitivinicola Giacomo Conterno. Subsequent acquisitions include the 3ha cru Ceretta (2008); and Arione (2015), which adjoins Cascina Francia and now contributes grapes to the riserva.
Following Giovanni’s death in 2004, his son Roberto, who had worked alongside him since 1988, assumed control of the estate, largely continuing the winemaking tradition though converting the vineyards to organic cultivation.
Under Roberto, Monfortino has become, to use a French expression, a vin d’auteur, made only in years that its maker deems appropriate for its character, and not always the highest ranked vintages. Counterintuitively, in the difficult vintage of 2002, grapes were devoted to Monfortino rather than to the ‘lesser’ cru Cascina Francia.
The wine undergoes a prolonged skin-maceration and fermentation prior to ageing on average for seven years in large wooden botti before bottling. Production is 600-700 cases (12bt equivalent) in each release, the most recent being 2015 vintage.
In the 1950s Conterno released a very limited number of ¼ brenta, ultra-large format bottles allocated only to family and friends and to selected restaurant customers. These contained different volumes, between 11.5 and 13.5lts each. To preserve quality the wine was topped with a small quantity of ‘oenological oil’, preventing possible contamination in the event of a faulty cork. The oil is removed by syringe when the bottle is broached.
Current Giacomo Conterno bottlings include:
Barolo Monfortino Riserva, fruit historically bought-in, now from Cascina Francia (since 1978) and Arione (since 2015)
Barolo Cascina Francia (since 1980)
Barolo Ceretta (since 2010)
Barolo Arione (since 2015)
Barbera d’Alba (from both Cascina Francia and Ceretta, aged two years in large oak casks)
Nebbiolo d’Alba (from Arione)
No longer produced:
Barolo Riserva (selected vintages, until 1979)
Dolcetto d’Alba (from Cascina Francia, 1979 only)
Lange Freisa (selected vintages only)
Barolo Chinate, Barbaresco etc (occasional bottlings in 1960s)