Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala 2019

Aldo Conterno left one of Barolo's most legendary addresses to build his own. In 1969 he walked away from his father's cellar — the estate now known as Giacomo Conterno, still run by his nephew Roberto and still among the most sought-after names in Piedmont — to found Poderi Aldo Conterno in Bussia Soprana, Monforte d'Alba, a move Decanter has since described as creating an "Italian Second Growth." The estate's 25 hectares sit on the same celebrated hillside as three grand cru-level vineyards — Colonnello, Cicala, and Romirasco — at 350 to 400 metres elevation, south-southwest facing, on clay-marl and limestone soils rich in calcium carbonate and iron over sandy subsoil. Aldo was always something of a bridge between camps: a self-described believer in making Barolo "friendlier," he shortened macerations and adopted pump-overs, yet never abandoned the estate's large Slavonian oak casks, so the wines never picked up the new-barrique sheen that marked so much of the modernist movement. Cicala is hand-harvested mid-September, given around thirty days of skin contact, and aged roughly 28 months in those same large wooden vessels.

The result is Barolo of real power tempered by genuine finesse: sweet dark cherry, blackberry, and strawberry sit alongside violet and rose, layered with walnut, spice, tobacco, and earthy undergrowth, all carried by ultra-fine tannins and bright, structured acidity built to evolve over decades. It's a wine that consistently earns comparisons to the great traditionalist producers while retaining a polish and precision distinctly its own. Give it real time in the cellar, or a long decant if opening young, and pour it with braised short rib, aged Toma cheese, or a classic Piemontese brasato — this is one of the three pillars of Aldo Conterno's Bussia Soprana holdings, and a wine that helped define what modern-traditional Barolo could be.