Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia 2009 1500ml

eRobertParker.com #219 Jun 2015
Because Monfortino was not produced this vintage, the 2009 Barolo Cascina Francia benefits from the extra fruit that would have otherwise gone toward the world's most celebrated Barolo Riserva. I tasted the 2009 Barolo Cascina Francia in barrel two years ago and am delighted by its steady evolution. This is a wine of sophisticated intensity and persuasion. The bouquet peels back to reveal dark fruit, licorice, tar and dried rose. The vintage was warm, resulting in extra plumpness and roundness in terms of mouthfeel. The style is slightly more immediate, but this is a great aging wine nonetheless.

Though most histories of the famed Giacomo Conterno estate begin with its namesake, the estate was founded by his father, Giovanni Conterno, in 1908. Giovanni placed emphasis on making premium quality Barolo only in great vintages using long fermentation and aging periods to create the best aging potential. Giovanni taught his son, Giacomo, well, and when he returned from serving in WW I, Giacomo had a vision to make a Barolo that would age for decades.
Until the 1970s, Poderi Giacomo Conterno owned no vineyards; the estate made its wines from select old-vine grapes that it purchased from farmers. But as farmers increasingly began bottling their own wine, the estate felt the need to purchase its own land; in 1974, the estate purchased the densely planted 17-acre Francia vineyard, one of Piemonte's great monopole sites. Boasting southwest exposure and sitting about 400 meters above sea level, Francia’s grapes offer deep tannins, creating ideal cellaring wines--in fact, the estate bottles its renowned Monfortino from the very best grapes grown in the same vineyard. Giacomo Conterno hews close to tradition in crafting its wines, and the estate makes its Barolos with natural yeasts, temperature controlled fermentation and a lengthy maceration; after this, the wine is aged in large Slavonian botti and aged in bottle for four years.
Known for its superb long-lived wines, this estate recently narrowed its focus strictly to Nebbiolo and Barbera. Giacomo Conterno uses only the highest quality grapes from Cascina Francia in Serralunga d’Alba for their two famed Barolos: the ‘Cascina Francia’ and the legendary ‘Monfortino' Riserva. The densely planted Francia vineyard has southwest exposure and is about 400 meters above sea level. Grapes gathered here offer deep tannins, creating ideal cellaring wines. Recently, the estate has added a third Barolo, Cerretta, from a Serralunga vineyard that it bought in 2008.

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