Giacomo Conterno - Barolo "Arione" 2020 (750ml)
Price: $339.99
| Producer | Giacomo Conterno |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Piedmont |
| Varietal | Nebbiolo |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 203169 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Giacomo Conterno Description
The Giacomo Conterno winery is one of the greatest names in all of Piemonte. The estate was founded in the 1920’s by Roberto Conterno’s grandfather Giacomo from whom the estate gets its name. Giacomo was not the first in the family to make wine but he was the first to label the bottles with the family’s name. Giacomo’s father, Giovanni, had made Barolo from purchased grapes and whatever was not consumed at the family’s tavern during this period was sold in barrel, as was the custom throughout the region in the early twentieth century. Their flagship Riserva Barolo, Monfortino, was first conceived as a means of showing off the quality of their best wine and the first confirmed vintage to have been made was the 1924. There are reports that a 1912 Monfortino was made by Giovanni, but the family members cannot recall if this was indeed the case. In any event, after his return from World War I, Giacomo Conterno and his father Giovanni started producing Barolo in earnest, and a legend was started.
The Conterno style of Barolo has always been ultra-traditional, with a long maceration followed by extended aging in large, oak casks (botti). In the old days, aging was anywhere from four to ten years prior to bottling, and often longer, sometimes with multiple bottlings from the same vintage. Today, the "regular" Barolos are aged for four years before bottling, and the Monfortino for six to seven years - the only "modernist" concession in the entire vinification and aging process!
The Arione cru abuts the Francia cru to the south. The Francia vineyard largely faces west though as you walk towards the Arione cru the exposition changes to west-southwest. The wines from Arione, while comparable to Francia, tend to have a bit more elegance than those of neighboring Francia.
Vinous: 97 Points
The 2020 Barolo Arione is a wine of extreme delicacy and finesse. Lavender, sage, mint, cedar and rose petal are some of the many notes that lift from the palate. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2020 impresses with its inner sweetness and sublime balance.
Wine Advocate: 96 Points
The Giacomo Conterno 2020 Barolo Arione strikes on the darker and more saturated side of the Nebbiolo spectrum. This vineyard site in Serralunga d'Alba reveals dark fruit and scorched earth, but those baritone aromas are given lift by a brilliant pop of sweet red cherry. The 2020 vintage is actually less intense and concentrated compared to past releases, and you can count on this wine for a special touch of elegance. It closes with a silky and very precise sense of structure. Winemaking is the same for most of the estate wines. The Arione saw three weeks of skin maceration with submerged cap, a few punch-downs, pump-overs and délestage. Cap management has been the same at this estate for 20 or 30 years. The results offer pretty fruit succulence with impressively glossy tannins.
Of these three single-vineyard Barolos, Arione has the finesse, Cerretta has volume and structured tannins and Francia, well, has an even greater sense of tannic intensity. These are age-worthy tannins that still feel quite firm and compact and will need more time to resolve.
