2003 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Francia

This vertical tasting of Giacomo Conterno's Barbera d'Alba Cascina Francia was a poignant reminder that Piedmont is more than Barolo and Barbaresco, as great as those wines are. The Conterno family purchased Cascina Francia in 1974 and immediately planted the vineyard with Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto and Freisa, the typical complement of Piedmontese grapes at the time. The first vintage from Cascina Francia, a steep hillside vineyard in Serralunga was 1978. The Barolos from this site are of course among the most iconic wines anywhere in the world, but the Barbera is equally deserving of attention.

Ask producers in the region which wine represents the pinnacle of winemaking in the Langhe the answer you are most likely to hear is Giacomo Conterno's Barolo Riserva Monfortino, which has long been an iconic wine in these parts. The estate produces three wines, all from its Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga. The Barbera is usually one of the top wines in the region. It sees 21 months of aging in medium size casks before being released. Conterno is most known for his two Barolos, Cascina Francia and the Monfortino Riserva, which is only produced in top vintages. When the vintage warrants, Conterno makes a selection of the very best grapes just before harvest, and this fruit is destined for the Monfortino. Depending on climactic conditions various parcels within the Cascina Francia vineyard mature differently, so the exact source of the fruit for the Monfortino can vary from year to year. Cascina Francia is fermented in stainless steel, with temperature control, for 3-4 weeks. Aging takes place in large Slavonian oak casks for 4 years. For the Monfortino, the grapes are fermented in a combination of open-top wood vats and stainless steel tanks without temperature control for 4-5 weeks. The wine is then aged in a single large Slavonian oak cask for 7 years. Conterno employs a very minimalist approach in the cellar when it comes to making his wines. He believes the work is done in the vineyards, where his yields are typically below 4,000 kilos per hectare. Conterno employs only natural yeasts and the wines are not fined or filtered prior to bottling. Both of Conterno's Barolos are legendary for their extraordinary complexity and aging potential. Monfortino in particular is a reference point wine in the region, a standard among which all other wines are measured, both modern and traditional. Simply put, these are reference-point wines for the region that no one who loves Barolo will want to be without. The only problem consumers are likely to face is one of allocation of resources, as Conterno has a range of exceptional wines from recent vintages on the market today. While not inexpensive, the quality of these wines is extraordinary, and I can't recommend them highly enough. In particular the 1999 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is not to be missed. “I've always believed 1999 is a truly great vintage, one that unites classical structure with ripeness, profound aromatics and power,” says Roberto Conterno. “Of course the wines will require some bottle age to come around, but these are magnificent Barolos that will be extremely long-lived. We had a very well-balanced growing season in 1999. We received a healthy amount of snow in the winter, which gave the vines some reserves of water. The spring was warm, but the temperatures remarkably consistent, so I didn't need to intervene much in the vineyard at all. We had a warm summer, but without excessive heat, and very even weather all the way through the fall. The harvest was fairly late. We began picking around October 16-17, so although not quite as late as 1996, when we harvested the nebbiolos on the 20th of October, it was still a fairly late harvest by today's standards. The vines were not overly productive so we only ended up dropping 30-35% of our fruit during the green harvests, as opposed to vintages like 2001 and 2004 which required more dramatic greenharvesting.”