Giacomo Conterno

Why we follow Giacomo Conterno

The estate

The traditionalist benchmark, based at Monforte d'Alba. Founded in the 1920s by Giacomo Conterno, the first in the family to put the family name on the bottle. His flagship Riserva, Monfortino, predates the DOC laws: it was sold simply as Monfortino, without the word Barolo on the label. The first confirmed vintage is 1924. Giovanni Conterno bought the Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga and immediately stopped buying grapes. Roberto Conterno runs the estate today and has expanded it carefully.

The vineyards

Around 17 hectares between Monforte and Serralunga d'Alba, Guyot-trained, up to 500 metres elevation. Francia, in Serralunga, sits on calcareous soils facing west: roughly 9 hectares of Nebbiolo plus 5 of Barbera. It was renamed from Cascina Francia to simply Francia from the 2010 Barolo owing to a change in Italian law. Cerretta, acquired in 2008, adds 2 hectares of Nebbiolo and 1 of Barbera; it is the most clay-heavy of the three and gives a lusher, more fruit-driven style. Arione, acquired in 2015, is effectively the whole cru — adjacent to Francia, limestone-based and south-facing, arguably even better exposed. In early 2018 the family bought Nervi in Gattinara: 27 hectares and the oldest cantina in the appellation, founded in 1906, with holdings in the crus Molsino and Valferana. It is bottled as Nervi Conterno.

In the glass

Uncompromisingly traditional: long maceration with a submerged cap, fermentation in large Austrian wood bins, then ageing in large botti. Roberto favours oxygenation and the slow evolution of tannin and aroma. Modern equipment is adopted only where it does the same job better, such as gentler destemming and sorting. Release timing is fixed and long: two years from harvest for the Barberas, four for the Barolos and around seven for Monfortino. Total production is roughly 62,000 bottles a year. Monfortino began as a way of showing off the best wine in the cellar, before appellation rules existed to describe it. The Arione acquisition is a neat historical loop: Conterno now owns the cru that Bruno Giacosa made famous fifty years ago, and its fruit now goes into Monfortino.

With Lamont’s

Offered through the Private Cellar Selection. Register your interest and we will contact you when the next allocation is confirmed.