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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
During the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, the Conternos could produce their epic Barolos by relying on small, independent farmers who worked their old, low-yielding vines. But by the 1970s, those farmers began increasingly to make their own wines. Threatened with the loss of their fruit sources, Giovanni acquired Serralunga’s great Cascina Francia vineyard. With its fabulous exposure, and predominately calcareous soil, the site was perfect for the powerful Conterno style, and soon Cascina Francia became the sole source of their wines.
Since 1978, both Barolos—Monfortino and Cascina Francia—have been sourced exclusively from Cascina Francia. Monfortino represents, of course, a selection of the best grapes in the greatest years. But it also made differently, first undergoing an uncontrolled fermentation at relatively high temperatures. On average, Monfortino also remains an additional three years longer in large oak casks (botti). Monfortino’s extra aging in cask, says Roberto, is a consequence of the extraordinary structure, power and concentration of the wine.
Vuosikerta 1990
With the advent of the 1990s, Italian wine production finally entered the modern age. The pioneers of modern winemaking had succeeded in their efforts to show the world, not to mention politicians, the potential of Italian wine production. This was demonstrated in 1992 with the implementation of the new IGT classification, whose purpose was to lift the super wines out of the Vina da Tavola category from the disgraceful Italian quality classification system. Conversely, a number of producers gave up their DOC or DOCG classifications and marketed their wines as IGTs, such as Angelo Gaja’s Barbaresco and Barolo cru wines and Roberto Anselmi’s Soave wines.
1990 was the ideal kickoff for this stunning decade. A hot and dry summer with cool nights and light rain set the stage for a small, but exceptional crop, perhaps the finest seen since the 1940s. Piedmont brought in an excellent crop for the third year in a row. However, the rains were distributed considerably more evenly in 1990. Tuscany enjoyed similar weather conditions, and, as in Piedmont, the grapes ripened earlier than usual. Overall, 1990 produced very elegant, nuanced, ripe fruited and concentrated wines, which still have great maturation potential.