2017 Diego Conterno "Ginestra" Barolo

DIEGO CONTERNO: THE OTHER CONTERNO YOU NEED TO KNOW

When it comes to Piedmont, Conterno is a name that is synonymous with quality. Much like the Colins or the Pillots of Burgundy, the Conterno family can trace their history in Piedmont back many decades, resulting in multiple producers boasting the same last name. Giacomo and Aldo are the most famous Conternos, but one that you may be less familiar with but certainly need to have on your radar is Diego Conterno. An up-and-coming producer located in Monforte d’Alba, Diego Conterno and his son Stefano are known for crafting elegant and powerful iterations of Nebbiolo. Diego was originally trained by Piedmont legend Beppe Colla at Prunotto, which laid the groundwork for the establishment of Conterno-Fantino in 1982, which Diego founded with his cousins. After a couple decades of making wine with his family, Diego decided it was time for him to go his own way and make a more traditional style of Nebbiolo, and proceeded to found his own project in 2000. He most notably brought with him family holdings from the Ginesta Cru of Monforte d’Alba, which is unquestionably the most prestigious of the 11 Crus in the village. Ginestra is unique within Monforte for two reasons: it faces southeast (as many of the great vineyards in Europe do) and it has an unusually large concentration of limestone in the soils, which gives the resulting wines more power and structure that those coming from other areas of Monforte. Overall, DiegoConterno is doing an incredible job of crafting traditional and powerful expressions of Nebbiolo from this area, and this is definitely one Barolo producer who you will want to keep on your radar, especially as long as the wines continue to come in under $100.  - MEG VAN TIL