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"This is one of the most impressive wine estates in all of Italy—perhaps in the world. From its great vineyards in Barolo, Poderi Aldo Conterno makes some of the most exquisite red wines on the planet." James Suckling
"This is one of the most impressive wine estates in all of Italy—perhaps in the world. From its great vineyards in Barolo, Poderi Aldo Conterno makes some of the most exquisite red wines on the planet." James Suckling
In the 19th century, the forefathers of Aldo Conterno emigrated to Argentina, but on account of various family vicissitudes they returned to Italy after a few years. It was then that Giovanni Conterno brought his family back to the small winemaking farm of his father Giuseppe in Monforte d'Alba and started helping him in the production of local wine. With his return to the business, Conterno increased the production of wine, to be sold in casks not only in Italy but also as far as America, thanks to a relative who had stayed out in Argentina. In response to market demand, the Conternos then felt the need to create a superior wine, to be produced exclusively from the best vintages, with a long vinification period and capable of lasting over time. In the 1920s the first reserve was bottled.
At the end of the '30s Giovanni handed over the reins of the business to his son, Giacomo, who continued his father's tradition with commitment and foresight, visiting his clients in person and taking advantage of the prestige which his wine was gathering to establish his own label in many regions of Italy. During these years, his sons Giovanni and Aldo began to assist and follow their father in running the business. In the mid-'50s Aldo decided to set out for America, with the ambition of creating a vine-growing and winemaking business with the help of an uncle who lived in California. This period in the United States turned out to be very constructive and unforgettable for Aldo but for a variety of reasons he had to abandon the country and come back home to his family business in Italy. Giacomo handed over the activity to his sons in 1961: it was a thriving and prestigious business, recognised over most of the country.
However, the five-year experience in the United States had kindled within Aldo a desire to establish a business of his own. It was for this reason that he decided, after working for a considerable time alongside his brother, to carry out the dream which had been interrupted in America. He bought the "Favot" farm and founded the estate "Poderi Aldo Conterno" in 1969.
Today the company is run by three sons of Aldo : Franco, Stefano and Giacomo who followed in the footsteps of their father carry on the family tradition.
Our cru vineyards (Romirasco, Cicala and Colonnello) located in Bussia of Monforte d’Alba, portray the real expression of the terroir. Their fabulous South South-West location enhances the nobility of the clayey-calcareous soil, rich with calcium carbonate and iron, typical of our hills. Our family has always had a relationship of perfect symbiosis with these cru, trying to enhance all their most peculiar characteristics through a wise and hard work in the vineyard. With the passing of the years we have been able to create a real microcosm which sinks its essence in the subtle balance offered by nature.
The wine of these cru gives itself with firm determination by playing on the most classical elements of the vine and its spicy notes give a crystal idea of the uniqueness of this soil. The interpretation of a territory goes along with the perfect knowledge of its components; that circumstance can become true only after a long and careful study of the components. All this has always been within our intentions, enabling us to find out the fundamental connections which, thanks to the hard work in the vineyard, are the basis of the unmistakable identity of our wines.
Our family represents the heart of all our activities. Five generations of people who devoted their lives to wine have instilled in our souls a deep respect for the identity of our territory and a firm characterization of our products. What we want to offer is simply the interpretation of a ground through our deep rooted beliefs. Our wines never look for inconditional approval and our personality is not prone to easy compromise.
Situated in Monforte d'Alba in the prized Bussia Soprano vineyard in the heart of the Barolo region of Serralunga, the Conterno family has been producing and aging the great Piemontese wines for more than five generations. The late Aldo left his brother at his father's cellar (the legendary Giacomo Conterno estate) in 1969 to pursue his own winemaking interests and to create the wines of Poderi Aldo Conterno in the "Favot" cellar. While Giacomo produces the more traditional style of the two Conterno brothers' estates, Poderi Aldo Conterno's wines aren't considered modern. Over the past decade, the wines of Aldo Conterno have grown more traditional in style, and they have captivated the passion of Italian wine lovers as they have. Known as the "King of Barolo" in Italy, Aldo Conterno passed away in May 2012, and the wine world lost not only a pioneer and a visionary but also a man of great dignity and grace. Fortunately, Aldo trained his three sons in his footsteps so that his eponymous estate will not merely perpetuate but flourish, as befits Aldo's legacy.
Tastingbook tasted the latest Aldo Conterno wines with Giacomo Conterno.
”18d 2h ago
Tasting wines like Le Pin, Haut-Brion, Latour, Dominus etc.
”7m 7d ago
Tasting with wines like Cheval 1947, Pingus 2000, Latour 1970, Ridge Monte Bello 1970, Unico 1960 etc...
”1y 2m ago
The 1980's tasting - flight III with Margaug 1985, Cheval Blanc 1982, Dominus 1988, Grange 1986 etc,
”3y 8m ago
Aldo Conterno Barolo Granbussia 1990 / 96 points / This is a big, broad-shouldered wine of tremendous power and longevity. This wine explodes from the glass with a profusion of red and black fruits, exotic spices, tarry earth, pressed herbs, crushed rose petals and savory notes like tapenade and pencil lead. This wine shows astonishing symmetry in its elements, crossing the palate with a velvety feel and building to a lingering, resonant finish. Granbussia Riserva’s grapes come from the prime Bussia plots of approximately 70% Romirasco, 15% Cicala, and 15% Colonnello. The grapes vinify in large temperature-controlled Slavonian oak casks for about sixty days, and the wine ages in botti for about three years before bottling; the wine is released about eight years after the harvest.
”4y 6m ago
Rinaldi Barolo 2007 / Served blind. Bright ruby with sediments. Scented, tar and roses, rich nose, tea, anise, leather and cherries nose. Fresh and high acidity, high of ripe tannins, fruity and lively, intense, cherries and red berries, little bit high alcohol making it a bit sweet, long. 90p
”5y 11m ago
Hermitage La Chapelle 1961 / Like returning to Lourdes hoping for another miracle and then being transfixed as it takes place! A scented, sainted marvel of wine making, a riot of blackberry, Syrah "syrup", the telltale soy and hoisin, flirtatiously expressive, sheer elegance and a medley of spices. On the palate opening, it is gorgeously complex, with astonishing breadth and intensity, violets, graphite, espresso, a hint of olives, and earthiness. And then, with the food in particular, you have a fragrant mellifluous softness, before the band strikes up again past the mid palate. It has enthralling balance. Amidst the plums and black currant liqueur-like notes almost, it recalls nothing else but a convocation of hedonistic bliss blended with seamless grace. This is so vigorous and ebullient on the palate massaging, slightly game-tinged finale that it leaves you simply beaming at life. There is no parallel here, other than possibly to take the spice-flecked seduction of the '78 and the polished intensity of the '90 and try to recreate "magic." This was, once more, prodigious. Compared to the Fall bottle, a wee bit less effulgent in aromatics, every bit as exquisite otherwise. 100 Points+ (the "+" for alternate life form factor)
”6y 4m ago
MY TOP 10 WINES OF THE 2016 / The difficulty for such a list is not finding ten wines; it is narrowing it down to ten.
What criteria should be used? Wines that gave the most pleasure? Highest scoring wines? Most interesting? A wine like the new Jim Barry Assyrtiko from the Clare Valley, for example. Thoroughly enjoyable but hardly going to knock the greatest in the world off their perches, but it is the first Assyrtiko made in Australia and shows what promise the variety has here. I'd have no problem including it. What of the 2001 Yquem? Every time I see it, I can’t help but fall under its spell. From the most thrilling young Yquem to an immaculate teenager, but it probably gets boring including it every time/every year. Also, I doubt that there is any serious winelover who does not know of its glories, so to include it does little. Some of the most exciting wines I saw this year were in barrel in Jerez and surrounds. But again, including them hardly helps anyone. Not as though they are being sold by the barrel.
Pekka’s extraordinary tasting in Helsinki – the Time Machine tasting and the great champagnes of the 1990s – could have filled all ten spots, such was the array of mindblowing wines. That seems unfair, so I limited myself to just one wine from any one occasion. And then I have tried for a spread of styles and countries, some old and some new.
And if you asked me to do this list tomorrow, I might well have ten different wines. However, in no particular order, here goes…
”6y 5m ago
7y 2m ago
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