Buying an elite wine like this is like playing Whack-a-Mole: If it pops up, you hit it!
That’s exactly what we did when we encountered a few pristine cases of Giacomo Conterno’s flagship “Cascina Francia”—and, lest we get too attached to them, we’re passing them along to a select few in the SommSelect firmament. At this point, Conterno really needs no introduction, and if you take all factors into consideration—quality; scarcity; longevity; return on investment—this wine is still undervalued in comparison to the top-of-the-pyramid red Burgundies it counts as peers. Today’s 2005 is ‘cornerstone-of-the-cellar’ material, or at least it would be if we had more than two bottles per customer to offer. As it is, we’ll have to content ourselves with two very special wine occasions, whether they happen soon or 10, 15, even 20+ years down the line. Anyone familiar with this legendary property knows there’s no surer bet in Italian wine.
Just in case there are some Conterno newbies out there, here’s a quick refresher: This is one of the founding families of Barolo, among the first—if not the first—to release their wines for sale in bottles. In the early 1900s, Giovanni Conterno sold Barolo wines out of barrels in his tavern, and his son, Giacomo (the estate’s namesake to this day), created a full-fledged winery operation in the 1920s, after returning from World War I. After that, it was Giacomo’s son—another Giovanni, in classic Italian fashion—who grew the estate to worldwide prominence in the modern era. Now with fourth-generation Roberto Conterno at the helm, the estate’s wines are in greater demand than ever before—and prices have risen accordingly.
Representing the absolute pinnacle of traditional Barolo winemaking, the Giacomo Conterno estate is centered on their “Cascina Francia” vineyard in the Barolo village of Serralunga d’Alba. It is, to use the French word, a monopole—the “Romanée-Conti” of Barolo—and its track record for producing profound, exceptionally long-lived wine speaks for itself. The site, which hugs the Serralunga/Monforte border (the Conterno winery is on the Monforte side), has a nearly full-west aspect, exposing it to more afternoon sun; generally, such sites produce more firmly structured, mineral wines (a Serralunga signature) and that is indeed the Conterno style. The wine from Cascina Francia is, famously, produced in the most traditional manner possible: fermented spontaneously, subjected to a lengthy maceration on its skins, and aged four years in the huge, Slavonian oak casks called botti.
If you were to check the charts, you’ll probably see higher scores for the two vintages that bookend today’s, but as many of those same critics are quick to note, 2005 has emerged as a sleeper hit among the many excellent years packed into the first decade of the 2000s. It was more of a medium-weight, classically structured year, less bombastic when first released but now, as the wines have gotten a chance to mature, showing great elegance, balance, and aromatic complexity. Conterno’s ’05 is just getting started right now, and it’s fantastic, but it’s poised to get even better.
In the glass, it’s a medium garnet-red moving to brick orange at the rim, with aromas of dark wild berries, black plum, dried orange peel, roses and violets, leather, tar, tobacco, mushroom, and a touch of balsamic. It is medium-plus in body and needs an hour-plus in a decanter before service if you decide to open one now. Powerfully aromatic and deeply savory, it’s got a finish that never seems to end, and it should continue to improve and grow ever more complex over the next decade-plus. Serve it in your best Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees and marvel at its nuances over the course of a great meal. I always opt for earthy flavors and rich textures for great Barolo, which offers both complementary and contrasting elements to the pairing: The firm tannins and mouthwatering freshness are best put to work cutting through some fat, to allow the full range of fruit and earth tones to shine. Keep it relatively simple and let the wine be the star—the attached recipe is the ultimate failsafe. Enjoy!
