Magnificent 1971 Conterno Barolo

11 June 2016: Invited to friends' home for dinner.  It was the original intention to have an Italian evening and our very hospitable hosts prepared a sumptuous menu of dishes including homemade taglioni with cuttlefish ink.

The evening started with a delicious 1998 Dom Perignon which was followed with a bit of diversion from Bourgogne and Portugal, before we homed in on the original Italian theme. The 1996 Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts, Joseph Drouhin was elegant and silky, showing its age but gracefully.

We were all rather impressed by the 2013 Meruge, Lavradores de Feitoria.  It was a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional, from a vintage marked by unusually low temperatures in April/May, followed by a hot dry summer and a wet September. This was a remarkable effort showing elegant balance, with an uplifting vibrancy, richness of fruit, spicy complexity, and a smooth texture. The alcohol, though high, did not throw the wine out of balance, supported by the ripeness of fruit.  The oak would need a bit more time to integrate completely but it was not too offensively overt (the wine was matured in new French oak for 12 months).  It was a well-crafted wine that could please the palate now or for further cellaring for 6 - 8+ years for further evolution.  Established in 1999, Lavradores de Feitoria is a co-operative consisting of 18 growers, with vineyard area of around 800ha in the Douro, from a range of altitudes 200 - 500 metres.  For Meruge, the grapes are sourced from two north-facing cool vineyards, thus explaining the freshness (for 2013, it recorded 5.3 g/l acidity).

Although it was brought by us, we had to admit that it was the star of the evening for us: 1971 Conterno Barolo, our last bottle. The last bottle was quite out of condition, so it was with a bit of anxiety when our host served it from the decanter. (We blind tasted all the wines.)  Underneath a slight whiff of volatile acidity, there was a glorious mature Barolo bouquet of dried roses, earth, hint of tar and leather.  The palate was silky and the finish long and harmonious.  A beautifully aged Barolo.  Richard felt that there was cellaring potential but I probably wouldn't keep this any longer.

The estate famed for premium Barolos with extreme longevity, was founded by Giovanni Conterno in 1908.  Giovanni believed in making the best Barolo and therefore it would only be made in great vintages.  When his son Giacomo returned from WW I, he joined his father in running the estate. Giacomo's 2 sons, Giovanni and Aldo, worked together until 1969 when Aldo broke off to set up Poderi Aldo Conterno.  Until the 1970s, the estate had no vineyards - it made wine from bought grapes.  As more and more farmers began bottling their own wine, the estate decided to purchase its own land.  In 1974, the estate purchased the densely planted 17-acre Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba, one of Piemonte's great monopole vineyard (SW exposure, 400 metres high). Winemaking is traditional here from Giacomo's days: natural yeast, temperature-controlled fermentation, long maceration and ageing in Slavonian botti and bottles for 4 years before release.  So this bottle would have been made by grapes sourced by the estate.


The other wine that I particularly liked was the 1994 Gaja Sitorey (mostly Barbera with some Dolcetto).  I had thought it was a mature Barbaresco, still retaining plenty of freshness, but with the tannins softened out.  The new oak was well-integrated, and the bouquet was hint of spice, dried cherry, tar, and some leather. The acidity was still prominent and made great pairing with the roasted chicken and mozarella parcel. It was a very stylish wine, quite different from the humble Barbera and Dolcetto!  1994 was a disastrous vintage in Piemonte.  Angelo Gaja declassified 50% of his crop.