2004 Barolo Romirasco

In today's rushed, image-conscious world Aldo Conterno stands apart for the family's quiet dignity rooted to the agrarian culture that is such a central part of the Piedmontese character. Time marches to a different beat here, and there is a sense of quiet calm that pervades the property. The estate pursues exacting quality standards and only releases its top selections when vintage conditions are perfect. Unfortunately the 2004 harvest was not without its disappointments here. The Cicala vineyard was damaged by hail, which means that there is no Barolo Cicala nor Granbussia in 2004. The estate also decided against producing its Langhe Nebbiolo Favot. The wines that were bottled are consistently outstanding. Aldo Conterno's son Giacomo told me he was very happy with the vintage when I stopped by for a visit in November. According to Conterno the vines are only now starting to produce results from the shorter pruning regime the family began practicing in its vineyards in 1998. These 2004 Barolos are remarkably elegant and open today. The question is to what extent they will shut down in bottle. Readers who have the opportunity to taste the wines over the next few months should not hesitate to do so. This is the finest set of young Barolos I can remember tasting at this historic address. Readers who want to learn more about Aldo Conterno may want to re-visit my recent feature on this site.

The Conterno family has consolidated its range of offerings in recent vintages. There is no longer a Quartetto bottling, nor is La Bussianella made any more, as the estate's very old freisa vines were producing fruit too high in potential alcohol for this style. There's also no more Chardonnay Printanie, as the vines have gotten old enough to make "serious barrique wine," according to Franco Conterno. The freisa will now go into a new wine, simply called Langhe, along with 20% cabernet and merlot, while the nebbiolo previously used for the Quartetto will go into the Favot and the barbera will be used for the Conca Tre Pile. Furthering the consolidation theme, Conterno is now working with just a single agent for sales in the U. S. According to Franco Conterno, vintage 2004 is "great across the board, very classic. " He went on: "The 2004s are less sweet than the 2001s but are velvety-rich, like a cross between '01 and '99. " The Conternos made no Barolos in either 2003 or 2002. "Two thousand three produced inelegant wines with high alcohol," said Franco, who said that the Conternos made Il Favot by picking grapes very early, in mid-September. (I should note that several other producers told me in September of 2004 that they were considering not bottling their 2003 Barolos, or at least not their vineyard-designated wines, but in the end many of them did. )