2009 Barolo Ginestra Vigna Sorì Ginestra

Guido Fantino's son Fabio, who apparently chose enology school over soccer, told me that the estate has reduced its use of new barriques for its Barolos to 80% in search of a more elegant style but also noted that the family is the last to pick in their great cru Ginestra (despite the fact that uncle Claudio generally prefers to pick earlier with good acidity and low pH).Fabio told me that the nebbiolo remained in good condition through the harvest of 2009 but that the 2010s are more classic.

Conterno-Fantino is one of the most interesting producers in Barolo today. Claudio Conterno and Guido Fantino have always been meticulous farmers, but at times their Barolos have been a bit marked by the use of 100% new French oak barrels. Over the last few vintages, however, things have begun to change. Fantino's son Fabio has begun to back off the severe green harvests of the past, allowing yields to be less extreme, while also leaving more leaf cover to combat the heat of recent years. In the cellar, the changes are perhaps even more radical. A few years back, the estate began to introduce a few casks. Tasting the same wine from both cask and barrique is so telling of the sheer quality and potential of this fruit. In my view, Conterno-Fantino are among the best farmers in Piedmont. The purest expression of the great – and I do mean great – sites the family works with unquestionably comes through more clearly with cask.