2010 Barolo Francia

Roberto Conterno is in the midst of remodeling his winery, which involves increasing storage space and creating a bit more space for visitors. It's hard - no, impossible - to walk among thes casks in the cellar and not think about the rich history contained within these walls. Conterno was just 17 in 1985 when he helped his father set up the winery. Among other things, that involved moving all the wines in cask from the old cellar to the current-day facility in Monforte, including the 1978 and 1982 Monfortinos, among others. The 2010 Barolos have only recently been bottled. Although it is early, it is pretty clear the wines are absolutely magical and express every bit of the potential they always have.

I have tasted Conterno's 2010s from barrel many times over the last few years and they have never been anything less than spellbinding. The Nebbiolo harvest took place in mid-October, pretty much average these days. Overall, the wines have a very classic sense of structure, with perhaps a bit less perfume and more evident tannin than the 2008s. With 2010, Roberto Conterno debuts with his new Barolo from the Cerretta vineyard in Serralunga. The acquisition of a new vineyard by one of Barolo's historic estates is not something that happens every day, to say the least. The addition of Conterno's Barolo Cerretta to the Piedmont landscape is a major event. When he bought the vineyard in 2008, Roberto Conterno told me he needed 2-3 years to get the vineyard in shape. Judging by the 2011 Barbera - which is interplanetary - he appears to be right on schedule. The first Barolo from Cerretta is magnificent, but things seem to just be getting started here. As for the rest, well, I have written about Conterno extensively for years. In short, though, I will reiterate that there are few producers anywhere in the world who can match Roberto Conterno's intellect, passion and unrelenting drive for excellence.

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.