Barolo Monfortino Riserva 1997 75cl

Without a doubt, Giacomo Conterno is one of the greatest producers in Barolo. Though they have viticultural roots going back to the 18th century, they only began producing Barolo in 1908 when the family was running a tavern in San Giuseppe, near Monforte d’Alba. In the 1920s, they were considered one of the first producers to have bottled Barolo at a time when Barolo was sold in casks and in demi-johns. In the 1930s, the winery started making Barolo Monfortino which had a vast ageing potential. In 1954, the winery went on to produce a Barolo and a Barolo Riserva and in 1961 the two sons Giovanni and Aldo took over the family business. Aldo, however, did not share the house’s purely traditionalist philosophy and in 1969 he created his own estate (Poderi Aldo Conterno). In 1974 with the purchase of the Cascina Francia vineyard, the winery put an end to the outsourcing of grapes and in 1980 the first vintage from their own grapes was produced under the name Barolo Cascina Francia. Today, the ultimate and purest expression of Barolo can be found in the bottles bearing Giacomo Conterno’s name. These wines are rich, powerful, well-structured and capable of long ageing in bottle.