1990 Barolo Riserva Granbussia

When friends weren’t able to travel to Piedmont this past fall, they did the next best thing and brought Piedmont to their home. This intimate dinner featured a lovingly chosen selection of Piedmontese classics, paired with a fabulous dinner and an ungodly amount of white truffles. What could possibly be better?

These two fabulous Barolos from Aldo Conterno reflect a highly successful period in the estate's history. The winery, formally known as Poderi Aldo Conterno, traces its history back to 1969 when brothers Aldo and Giovanni Conterno divided their family's estate in Monforte. Each of the two brothers kept a portion of wines then in bottle, demijohn or cask, which explains the existence of pre-1969 Aldo Conterno bottles. Aldo Conterno has an unusual background for a Piedmontese winemaker of his generation because he lived in the US for a few years in the 1950s. After the passing of his American uncle, Conterno actually spent two years in the US military. Upon his return he most certainly was a changed person. Aldo's vision had been to make a more accessible style of Barolo than that his family made at the time at their estate (Giacomo Conterno). Aldo's top Barolo, Granbussia, is a blend of three vineyards; 70% Romirasco, 15% Colonello, 15% Cicala, and is only made in top vintages that present perfect growing conditions in all three sites. The component wines are fermented separately in steel, then aged in cask for three years, prior to being moved into steel for a further two years before bottling. To the best of my knowledge, no other winery leaves their Barolos so long in steel prior to bottling, but Aldo Conterno believes steel helps him keep the wine fresh, much as the demijohn did in a previous era.

Aldo Conterno's Barolo Riserva Granbussia has long been one of Piedmont's icon wines so it was with great pleasure that I sat down recently with brothers Franco and Giacomo Conterno to survey seven vintages of their top Barolo. Needless to say, the opportunity to taste these wines from impeccably stored bottles was an enormous privilege and made for a very enjoyable afternoon. Poderi Aldo Conterno was founded in 1969 when brothers Aldo and Giovanni Conterno divided the family's Giacomo Conterno estate over philosophical differences. Aldo was interested in creating a more approachable style of Barolo while Giovanni wanted to produce his wines in a rigorously classic style. Aldo moved to the Bussia zone of Monforte where he purchased the Cicala and Colonello vineyards, making him an exception rather than the rule during a time when it was much more common for wineries to buy grapes rather than work with estate-owned fruit. Giovanni continued to make his wines under the existing Giacomo Conterno label. The brothers also divided their existing stock of wines, which explains the existence of Aldo Conterno bottles in vintages that pre-date 1969. Granbussia was first produced in a test version in 1970. The first commercial release was 1971. The early vintages of Granbussia were made predominantly from the Cicala and Colonnello vineyards. A small addition of 10-15% fruit from the Romirasco vineyard was added to the blend, but the family chose not to feature this vineyard as it was the only plot they rented at the time and their ability to continue to source fruit was always a question mark. In 1980 Conterno acquired Romirasco as well and the vineyard subsequently became the main component of the wine. Beginning with the 1982 Conterno began using same blend of 70% Romirasco, 15% Cicala and 15% Colonnello for the Granbussia that is used today. Of these terroirs Cicala is the poorest and therefore yields the sturdiest wines. Colonnello lies just a few meters from the border with neighboring Barolo. It has a higher percentage of sand and gives the most delicate wines. Romirasco contains a blend of both soil types. The wines naturally exhibit a combination of the structure of Cicala with the finesse of Colonnello. Granbussia is only made in vintages in which all three vineyards give outstanding results. For example, 2004 was a great vintage, but Cicala was hit by hail, so there will be no 2004 Granbussia. Granbussia spends three years in oak. It is then moved to stainless steel for two years, a practice that, as far as I know, is unique among Barolo producers. “We aim to make wines that have plenty of primary aromatics and fruit,” explains Giacomo Conterno. “Our father (Aldo) always remarked how well wines aged in larger formats,” adds Franco Conterno. “He wanted to preserve as much of that freshness as possible by leaving the wine for two years in steel prior to bottling. Above all else he was concerned with cleanliness, a value he instilled in us early on,” adds Conterno. “We age our Barolos exclusively in large Slavonian oak casks. One of our challenges is keeping the barrels perfectly clean, so each year we recondition the casks by scraping out the part of the oak that has been in contact with the wine.” This practice explains the presence of new oak flavors in the wines when they are young. Granbussia has always been about elegance and refinement rather than about sheer power, which is in contrast to the approach many estates take in bottling their most structured wine as the riserva. Today it is also very unusual for an estate's top wine to be a blend, as most wineries feature single-vineyard selections for their riservas. The hallmarks of Granbussia are perfumed aromatics, sweet cherry fruit, soft tannins and notable finesse, qualities which are amply evident in these seven wines.