For anyone with a passion for Italian wine, few labels are as recognizable and meaningful as those with “CONTERNO” in capital letters across the top. The Conternos are 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. 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 at this point. 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. But we caught a break with the small parcel of 2003 we received and would never pass up the opportunity to offer this level of wine at this price: Critically acclaimed and right in peak drinking form, here’s a chance to experience one of the world’s greatest wines at a price that is—relatively speaking, of course—a steal. Only seven bottles remain.
Why, you might be asking, is this wine so reasonably priced? Well, we still live in very vintage-sensitive times, at least as far as the ‘markets’ are concerned. Between 2000 and 2010, the Barolo region experience an unprecedented run of great vintages. Previously, Barolo had been a “three great years out of 10” kind of place, but in the first decade of the 21st century, there were only two vintages considered “difficult”: 2002 and ’03. In 2002, sporadic hail damage throughout the region prevented some producers from making any Barolo at all. Then 2003 was a heatwave vintage, producing many overblown, overripe wines without much aging potential. In Giacomo Conterno’s case, however, both good luck and good judgement came into play. Not only did they make Barolo in ’02, they produced one of the greatest-ever examples of their legendary riserva, “Monfortino,” which is only produced in the best vintages. And, as was noted by critic Antonio Galloni (then writing for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate), Roberto Conterno’s decision to hold out and harvest a little later than most others in ’03—taking advantage of some late-season rain that refreshed his grapes—proved prescient. His ’03, while more forward and fleshy in style than the typical Giacomo Conterno release, was nevertheless blessed with more freshness and classical structure than most of its ’03 contemporaries. “A remarkable wine for the vintage,” was how Galloni described it.
Credit may be due at least in part to the Cascina Francia vineyard, a cooler site with a nearly full-west exposure and typically the source of very firm, focused, tightly would wines that need years in the cellar to show their best. Today’s 2003 has now had the benefit of time and is everything a Barolo classicist could ask for: fermented spontaneously, subjected to a lengthy maceration on its skins, and aged in the huge, Slavonian oak casks called
botti—this is all about brooding power and an aromatic profile that seems limitless. In the glass, it’s a medium garnet-red moving to brick orange at the rim, with aromas of stewed cherries, dried black plum, blood orange peel, dried roses and violets, leather, tar, mushroom…be sure to sip this wine slowly so you can fully appreciate the cacophony of Nebbiolo aromas wafting from the glass. Full-bodied in that ‘Barolo way’—which is to say sinewy-strong rather than beefy/chunky—its tannins have resolved nicely and its fruit extract has a chance to shine. It glides across the palate and leaves you plenty to think about on the lingering, savory, perfumed finish. While it should continue to age over the next 3-5 years, it’s in its sweet spot now. Decant it about an hour before service in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees and pair it with one of my Piedmontese go-tos: wild mushroom risotto. This isn’t just a delicious wine experience, it’s an emotional and intellectual one. Some wines are just on another level like that. Enjoy!
