1998 Barolo Francia

1998 has always been an interesting vintage for Barolo. Caught between the more hyped 1996 and 1997 on one end, and 2000 and 2001 on the other, the 1998s have often been overlooked. It also didn't help that the wines were first released during a period global economic malaise. While 1998 is not a truly iconic, legendary vintage, these Barolos are great choices for medium-term drinking as a number of wines are entering their early maturity, making them great choices for readers who are cellaring wines from Piedmont's sturdier vintages such as 1996, 1999 and 2001.

Piedmont experienced mostly warm weather in 1998 with spells of drought, though nowhere near the extremes seen in 1997. The wines have always been perfumed and accessible, with an attractive softness to the fruit. Even better, the vast majority of the wines have never shut down to the extent that wines from cooler vintages often do. The 1998s are extremely consistent across the board, and that level of outstanding quality may very well end up being the vintage's strongest attribute. As is typically the case, the Barolos of La Morra and Barolo are the most forward, while those of Serralunga are the freshest. Most of these wines were from my cellar, purchased and cellared since release, although I tasted a few of the wines a second time with the producers.

This wine was tasted over dinner at Da Cesare, Albaretto della Torre (CN), Italy

In May of this year I attended two very special tastings at Cru in New York. Winemakers Roberto Conterno and Mauro Mascarello were in town to present extensive verticals of their Barolos. The first tasting took place in the afternoon and featured current releases as well as a few older vintages. Although I generally avoid trade events because they don't allow enough time to accurately assess each wine, this sit-down tasting, which was hosted by importer Doug Polaner, was extremely well organized. Cru Wine Director Robert Bohr and his staff did an outstanding job in coordinating the service of the wines, which was no small feat. Between the afternoon tasting and the dinner that followed, I don't think I have ever tasted so many profound and emotionally moving wines in a single day! The wines were double decanted a few hours prior to serving. Roberto Conterno kicked off the tasting by talking about his estate and its winemaking philosophy. Giacomo Conterno is without question one of the most historically significant domaines in Piedmont, and all of Italy for that matter. The winery is named after Roberto's grandfather, Giacomo, who was a pioneer in producing, bottling, and exporting high quality wines decades before such practices became common in the region. It was also Giacomo who bottled the first Barolo Riserva in 1920. Giacomo's son Giovanni took over the estate in the early 1960s. Despite his untimely passing last year, Giovanni Conterno remains a towering figure in the Piedmontese landscape. Even today he is spoken about in the most respectful and reverential terms as a great man. “My grandfather's wines were good, but it was my father who really took quality to the next level,” explains Giovanni's son Roberto, who has worked in the winery since 1988. As happens with any generational change, Roberto Conterno receives many questions about the direction he is taking the estate. “A family friend said to me recently ‘your father was a traditionalist, but you are worse!'” recounts Conterno, assuring the audience that nothing will change in this winery's approach now that he is in charge. Conterno makes two Barolos both from the Cascina Francia vineyard, one of the great monopole sites in Piedmont. The vineyard was purchased by Giovanni Conterno in 1974 and measures six hectares. Cascina Francia is made in a traditional style, with natural yeasts and temperature-controlled fermentation and maceration lasting 3-4 weeks. The wines are aged in large Slavonian oak casks and are bottled in the summer of the fourth year following the harvest. In great vintages a special selection of the best fruit is made in the vineyard and that fruit becomes the Barolo Riserva Monfortino, perhaps the single most iconic wine in all of Piedmont. Monfortino is also made with natural yeasts, although fermentation/maceration time is longer, lasting 4-5 weeks, and is carried out without the aid of temperature control. Current vintages are aged seven years in cask, but past vintages have seen as much as 10 years of cask aging before being released. Monfortino is legendary for its extraordinary longevity, which is usually measured in decades.

Among the new developments at this renowned traditionalist: the Conternos replaced their dolcetto and freisa with nebbiolo and barbera after the 2000 vintage and will now concentrate on just two varieties. Also, beginning with the 2001 vintage, they will age their barbera a full year longer (21 months vs. 9) - "the way the wines were made 30 years ago," according to Roberto Conterno, who added that 2001 was a good time to make this change as this vintage supports longer aging.The Conterno Barolos continue to spend a long time on their skins during the fermentation (a month or more for the Monfortino, a bit less for the Cascina Francia) and are aged exclusively in large old Slavonian ovals. The Cascina Francia is bottled during the fourth year after the vintage and the Monfortino during the seventh year. "Only the use of large barrels enables us to maintain the particular aromatic characteristics of each year," explains Conterno. "The weather conditions we have during July create the terpenes, the classic Barolo perfumes like rose petal and camphor, and we find these aromatic characteristics only after three or four years of aging the wines in larger casks. Certainly barriques give certain advantages but we think that they standardize the wines." Conterno told me he was most fond of '99 and '97 among his recent vintages, but he noted that '98 had a more classical balance.

Although the Piedmont has enjoyed a string of highly successful vintages, production at this estate has fluctuated widely in recent years, according to Roberto Conterno, the son of Giovanni. Nineteen ninety-five brought a tiny crop due to hail: just 7,000 bottles of Barolo were produced. The small '96 and '97 vintages yielded about 12,000 bottles apiece, while '98 produced 25,000 bottles and '99 nearly 30,000! Of the recent vintages, says Roberto, '99 and '97 were highest in polyphenol levels. Still, Giovanni Conterno is especially enamored of the '98 vintage, which he says offers "a near-perfect balance of acidity, alcohol and tannins at a very high level." The estate typically harvests late for maximum ripeness; in '99, a year in which many growers picked shortly after the mid-September rainy period, the Conternos began their nebbiolo harvest on October 15.x000D x000D These are Barolos made for the long haul, rather than for early appeal. "My Barolos are best after 20 years, or 30 or 40," notes Giovanni, who has traditionally carried out a month or more of maceration. "I don't know about those four-day fermentations others are doing today," says Conterno. "But obviously, when you do very short fermentations, barriques must be used to give the wines enough tannic structure." As I noted in Issue 81, Conterno two Barolo bottlings theoretically begin with the same material (from Cascina Francia in Serralunga) but receive different vinification and elevage. The normale spends three to four weeks on the skins and then ages in large casks before being bottled the fourth July after the vintage, while the Monfortino spends up to 35 days on the skins and is bottled seven or eight years after the vintage.