1999 Barolo Gran Bussia

The Conternos made no wines in 2002, and there will be no Barolo crus in 2003. "It was too hot for nebbiolo in Barolo; the best sites were fried by the sun, and the grapes had no acidity," said Giacomo Conterno, who with his brothers Stefano and Franco assists father Aldo, "but 2003 was a great year for barbera. "Incidentally, Giacomo assured me that there was no truth to the rumor that this estate was for sale. The story arose when the local edition of the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that actor Gerard Depardieu was seeking to buy a Barolo estate in the Monforte area, even though the article did not name names. "It was good publicity for us, free advertising," noted Aldo Conterno. Aldo emphasized that although his estate is often described as increasingly modernist in orientation, "we are always traditional with Barolo; it's our other wines we experiment with," said Aldo. "We already have noble, smooth Barolo tannins, and we don't like sweet wood tannins. "