1996 Barolo Gran Bussia

Franco Conterno was highly optimistic about the 2001 vintage, describing it as "better than 2000 for all of our wines, though not as strong as 1999." He went on: "In 2000 we had a very dry season, with just enough rain to have a normal good vintage. These wines are a bit like '97 but with more acidity. The problem for the '99s is that they're just too young now. They're strong in all the elements, and they respect the typicity of nebbiolo. Vintage '98 is not quite so rich, but very elegant. And '97 is too round and ripe, with not enough acidity. It's less fine and perfumed than our favorite years."The Conternos (Aldo's son Stefano is the winemaker, Giacomo works in the office and Franco is in charge of exports) eschew small barrels for their Barolos but use all new barriques to age their Bussiador chardonnay, their red blend Quartetto and their Il Favot nebbiolo. "There's nothing wrong with barriques," Franco points out. "It's a question of how you use them. A Ferrari with Schumacher at the wheel is a very good car; with me it would be dangerous." The Conterno Barolos spend eight to ten days on their skins, just until the end of the fermentation. A propeller in the fermenter keeps the cap wet and allows for quicker extraction of color. The seeds fall into a trough at the bottom of the tank, enabling the Conternos to extract without getting bitter tannins.