Giacomo Conterno

It’s not clear exactly when cantina Giacomo Conterno was founded, but it is certain that when Giacomo Conterno returned from service in WWI and bottled his first estate riserva in 1920 (which would then become Monfortino—perhaps the most famous Barolo in production) the estate began its great ascendancy. For the next 54 years, Giacomo and his son made two Baroli from purchased grapes, the distinguishing factors being fermentation technique and time in cask.

In 1961, Giacomo’s sons, Giovanni and Aldo, took over the family estate, eventually parting ways over conflicting winemaking philosophies. Giovanni continued managing the business and in 1974 purchased the family’s first vineyard: Cascina Francia in Serralunga. With this purchase, he immediately ceased purchasing fruit, relying on 9ha of Nebbiolo (and 5ha of Barbera) to produce 600 cases of Monfortino and 1500 cases of Cascina Francia. In 1988, Giovanni’s son, Robert came to work with his father, eventually assuming management in 2004. Roberto has overseen a period of expansion in landholdings and a diversification of business interests. In 2008, he purchased a vineyard in Cerretta and in 2015 purchased the 9ha Arione vineyard next to Cascina Francia, which he snatched from the wealthy Krause family, who had been aggressively buying swatches of land. Roberto also purchased an estate in Gattinara, launched a glassware range, invested in vineyard robots, and more recently opened a restaurant in La Morra.

Today, the wines remain highly celebrated and the cantina of great importance—Monfortino remains the most expensive of all the region’s wines (regularly commanding over £1000). They are imposing, rich and austere boasting spicy, menthol bouquets and heaps of texture with the potential for very long ageing.