Giacomo Conterno

The estate is named after Giacomo Conterno, who was born in 1895 and had been producing and bottling Monfortino since the 1920s, according to Decanter. From the 1920s onwards, Giacomo and his son Giovanni bought Nebbiolo grapes of extraordinary quality at a time when there were very few bottlers, The Drinks Business reports; this continued up to the 1970s, when more producers started to bottle their own wine. Before 1974 the wines were made from grapes purchased from growers in Monforte and Serralunga, per Decanter. Roberto Conterno, son of the late Giovanni Conterno, is the third-generation winemaker at the helm, per The Drinks Business in 2022; Jancis Robinson's site described him as proprietor of the estate in 2018. Decanter reports that Roberto was born in 1968 and had worked with his father since the age of 20.

• Estate named after Giacomo Conterno, born 1895
• Monfortino produced and bottled since the 1920s (Decanter)
• Wines made from purchased grapes from growers in Monforte and Serralunga before 1974
• Roberto Conterno: third-generation winemaker and proprietor

In 1974 the family bought Cascina Francia in Serralunga d'Alba. Decanter describes it as a fallow 14-hectare block that Giovanni bought to guarantee his own supply, and because it needed to be replanted, the first vintage made from its grapes was 1978. The Drinks Business reports that the property then comprised 6 hectares of Nebbiolo, 3.5 hectares of Barbera, 3.5 of Dolcetto and 1 hectare of Freisa, and that as of the 2019 vintage the holdings stood at 9 hectares of Nebbiolo and 7 hectares of Barbera, as well as 6 hectares of the Arione Nebbiolo vineyard. Per Decanter, Cascina Francia lies at up to 450 metres in Serralunga along the border with Monforte, opposite the Ginestra vineyard; the soils are calcareous, the vines face southwest, and they are planted to a density of around 4,000 per hectare.

• Bought 1974; replanted, first vintage 1978
• 14 hectares; at 1974: 6 ha Nebbiolo, 3.5 ha Barbera, 3.5 ha Dolcetto, 1 ha Freisa (The Drinks Business)
• Up to 450 metres, calcareous soils, southwest-facing, around 4,000 vines per hectare (Decanter)

Decanter describes Monfortino not as a selection of the best barrels but as a parcel selection made shortly before harvest, vinified separately in open-top vats only when its quality is significantly superior to the rest of Cascina Francia. There is no temperature control, and the maceration lasts up to five weeks. The wine ages in large casks of 2,000 to 7,500 litres. When the regular Barolo has aged in cask for a year or two, the final decision is taken on whether to blend the Monfortino selection with the regular wine or to designate it as Monfortino; Monfortino then ages for at least seven years, compared to four for the regular Barolo. It is bottled without fining or filtration, and between 7,000 and 10,000 bottles are produced. Decanter notes that the 1970 vintage was aged for a decade in large casks and the 1978 for eight years.

• Parcel selection shortly before harvest, open-top vats, no temperature control, maceration up to five weeks
• Large casks of 2,000 to 7,500 litres; at least seven years for Monfortino, four for the regular Barolo
• No fining or filtration; 7,000 to 10,000 bottles (Decanter)

Decanter included Monfortino 1978 among its Wine Legends and wrote that Conterno's Monfortino has long been among the most celebrated Barolos. Decanter quotes Nicolas Belfrage MW, writing in 1999: ‘If I was given the choice of one bottle of Barolo before I die, I’d choose Monfortino.’ The Drinks Business called Giacomo Conterno one of the most famous Barolo producers in the world, and said to be the first producer-named Barolo made in the Riserva style. In a 2022 vertical tasting for The Drinks Business, Filippo Bartolotta scored Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2014 and 1978 at 100/100.

• Monfortino 1978 named a Decanter Wine Legend
• Filippo Bartolotta (The Drinks Business, 2022): Monfortino 2014 and 1978 at 100/100

Jancis Robinson's site describes Arione as a top cru bordering the Francia cru, and The Drinks Business counts 6 hectares of Arione Nebbiolo in the estate's holdings as of the 2019 vintage. Roberto Conterno has also bought the Nervi winery in Gattinara, in Alto Piemonte, as reported by both Jancis Robinson and The Drinks Business.

• Arione: borders the Francia cru (Jancis Robinson)
• Nervi winery in Gattinara bought by Roberto Conterno

Primary sources (producer's own site): none used; no producer-site page with readable text could be confirmed and fetched. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-regions/piedmont-wine-region/barolo/wine-legend-conterno-monfortino-barolo-1978-355915/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/roberto-conterno-buys-nervi, https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2022/09/a-vertical-tasting-of-nearly-70-years-of-monfortino-barolos/. Last verified 2026-09-23.