2011 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Francia

Roberto Conterno has dedicated significant effort and money to ensuring the quality and consistency of the corks he uses for his widely sought Barolos.For starters, he begins with high-quality, completely untreated corks with few pores, analyzes them, then selects the ones he wants and sends back the rest.His treatment of his corks, which relies on a combination of paraffin, silicone and an anti-absorption agent, is designed to prevent the transfer of tannins from the cork to the wine.But in order to lubricate his corks with these materials in a completely consistent and controlled way, Conterno had a special machine designed and built that looks like a cross between a lottery machine and a spin drier (I asked him if he could dry my shirt while I was tasting). To prevent the counterfeiting of his highly collectible Barolos, he also uses a machine that prints an intricate logo on the corks, a lot number, the exact name of the wine, and the vintage year on both ends.Happily, the new wines at this great Monforte estate are up to the quality of the high-tech cork improvements.The 2011 barberas, from a vintage that Conterno calls "unbelievable" for this variety, are stunningly good.Conterno described the 2011 growing season as hot at the end and throughout, whereas 2009 witnessed a temperate summer until mid-August, then turned hot.Two thousand seven has more fruit, while 2009 has more tannins, added Conterno, who did not make a separate Monfortino wine in any of these three odd-numbered vintages.But 2006, 2008 and 2010 are another matter entirely, and these wines all look to be cellar treasures.