2009 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.

It's always an interesting experience tasting with Roberto Conterno, as his take on recent vintages does not necessarily track that of his colleagues. Conterno views 2008 as a unique year. "We picked late but the wines are fruity more than minerally," he said. In quantity of tannins, he went on, the 2008s are lower than 2009 but higher than 2007. "The most tannic recent vintages for us were 2010, 2006 and 2002." Conterno compares 2009 to 2007 but with a bit more acidity. There will be no 2007 Monfortino, as this cuvee was not rich enough in tannins or sufficiently powerful. Needless to say, the Cascina Francia, Conterno's only Barolo in '07, is an outperformer. In September, Conterno had not yet decided if there would be a Monfortino in 2009.

The drive from Barolo to Monforte was a little different this year. Peering across the valley over the hillside where the Conterno winery sits, the observant eye will notice a number of large barrels outside the main building. Roberto Conterno had no choice but to replace a number of his casks this year as the staves had begun to bend from many years of use, and Conterno was understandably afraid of the unthinkable, that the casks could finally yield to old age full of wine. Still, he was clearly upset by having to replace barrels that he personally moved into the new winery with his father during the summer of 1985. Just to think of the wines that were racked during that move. The 1978, 1979 and 1982 Monfortinos were all aged in those casks. To be honest, seeing the empty space in the winery as the new casks were about to arrive was quite a shock. The wines, however, were not. I tasted all of the wines currently in cask plus the new releases from bottle. My high expectations were easily surpassed. Conterno fans have a lot to look forward to. Roberto Conterno has decided to give his new Nebbiolo from the Cerretta vineyard another year in barrel. At the moment Conterno is leaning towards releasing the 2009 as a Langhe Nebbiolo rather than Barolo, although that could always change.