Barolo Cascina Francia Giacomo Conterno, Barolo 2015, 300 cl.

Vinification / aging

Giacomo Conterno follows the traditional path in the production of his wines. The winery creates its Barolo with natural yeast, temperature-controlled fermentation and a

35 days of maceration. Afterwards the wine is matured in large Slavonian vats and then in the bottle for four years.

History

Conterno, the name stands for excellent wines from Piedmont. The two famous wineries Giacomo Conterno and Aldo Conterno have family ties (Aldo and Giacomo were brothers) and follow a similar, rigorous path in wine production. The Aldo Conterno winery has been in existence since 1969, Giacomo Conterno since 1920, and Giacomo's grandson Roberto Conterno currently controls the fortunes of the estate. The quality level is very high at both wineries, similar to that of Vietti, Bartolo Mascarello and Roberto Vierzo. The Cascina Francia site is the heart of the winery. In 1974 the top site was bought and since then has been supplying the winery completely. It covers 14 hectares, 5 of which are planted with Nebbiolo, which goes entirely into the great Barolos. From the remaining 9 hectares come the grapes for the magnificent Barberas. Before 1974 Giacomo Conterno bought all the grapes from contract winemakers. In 2008 Roberto bought the Cerretta vineyard, which is situated higher and on the other side of Serralunga. The wines from the Cerretta site are powerful, spicy and intense, those from the Cascina Francia are elegant and fine. All the wines can, indeed some of them have to mature for many years to show their true potential. In 2015 Roberto succeeded in buying the cru "Arione" from his neighbour Gigi Rosso. He and an American retail group were the only bidders. This led to wild speculations in the Italian press, with anti-American conspiracy theories making the rounds. Roberto clarified the facts of the case, his purchase was based on Italian legislation that grants the direct neighbour a right of first refusal. Since Roberto is the owner of the adjacent cru "Francia", this condition was given. The purchase price was high, seven million Euros is spoken about underhand. It is generally feared that a process has been set in motion which will drive the already high prices in the Langhe even higher. The first vintage of the cru "Arione" will be produced by Giacomo Conterno in 2015, at his neighbour Gigi Rosso the story of the cru ends with the vintage 2014. There are no barrique barrels, similar to Mascarello, because Conterno swears by the power of the grapes alone. Already in the vineyard it is ensured that only the very best quality is produced. What is additionally sorted out during the harvest might bring tears to the eyes of some other winegrowers of the region, that's how strict the selection is. The vinification is very traditional, the maceration lasts up to six weeks, there are only a few wineries worldwide (among them Aldo Conterno) that can keep up with this. Even though in recent years stainless steel has indeed been introduced into the modern cellar in order to be able to ferment some of the musts at a controlled temperature, not much has changed in principle. There is no fining, no filtering, gravity alone clarifies the wines. There are only three qualities with five wines: Two Barbera d'Alba, two Barolo and the Barolo Riserva Monfortino, which is only produced in very good years. The Monfortino is a selected quality from the Cascina Francia site. In total, there are only about 50000 bottles per year on average. About 8000 bottles of the Monfortino are produced, but only if the quality meets the high standards. Only three or four vintages per decade have so far reached the desired level, and this is increasing thanks to climate change. The wines all mature in large wooden barrels, barriques are sought in vain here, unlike Aldo Conterno. The maturation period can last for years before the wines are released on the market. Especially the great Monfortino breaks all records worldwide with storage times up to ten years. The quantities produced are manageable, as the yields are a ridiculous 15-20 hl/ha due to the rigorous work in the vineyard. The prices are correspondingly high due to the great demand.

Terroir

Serralunga, a sloping wall of light, calcareous clay and rich metal deposits, especially lots of iron. Masculine, extremely powerful wines.