In the 19th Century, after attempting emigration to Argentina, Giovanni Conterno returned home with his family back to his father Giuseppe's small winemaking farm in Monforte d'Alba. With his return to the business, Conterno increased the production of wine, sold in casks not only in Piemonte and Liguria but also as far as America. In response to market demand, the Conternos then undertook to create a superior Barolo, to be produced exclusively from the best vintages, with a long vinification period and capable of lasting over time.
In the 1920s the first Barolo riserva was bottled. At the end of the 1930's, his son Giacomo took over and continued his father's tradition with commitment and foresight, visiting his clients in person and taking advantage of the prestige which Barolo was gathering to establish his own label in many regions of Italy. During these years, his sons Giovanni and Aldo began to assist and follow their father in running the business. In the mid-'50s Aldo decided to set out for America, with the ambition of creating a vine-growing and winemaking business with the help of an uncle who lived in California.
In 1969, after his return to Italy, Aldo Conterno parted ways with his brother Giacomo in a dispute over wine making methods. Left on his own at age 38 to start from scratch, he founded Poderi Aldo Conterno and set out to create Barolos that soon attained cult status.
Aldo Conterno passed away in 2012 at the age of 81, and his three sons Giacomo, Franco and Stefano took over the estate. In the 1990's there were only a handful of estates making wine in Monforte d'Alba, where Poderi Aldo Conterno is located, but now you can count over 70 producers in the sub-region. Giacomo and his brothers made a philosophical choice never to make more than 70,000 bottles in total from their vineyards, even though they could make upwards of 500,000. This commitment to quality is the main reason that Aldo Conterno is considered to be one of the greatest estates in Barolo, and certainly the best producer in Bussia.
Aldo Conterno's only Barbera d'Alba comes the upper hillside of the Bussia Soprano from Barbera vines of roughly 45 years. This is a rich and complex Barbera, with brilliant but balanced...
