Giacomo Conterno Cascina Francia Barolo 1990
The next day, I took a sip in the early afternoon. The wine was still firm, but its structure had softened just enough to unleash an entirely different spectrum of flavours. Now there was mushroom, earth, herbs, and faint hints of smells our species probably hasn’t experienced for millenia. But none of these flavours were obvious – they were as nuanced as language. Just as the simple juxtaposition of two words can produce insight into a well-trodden concept, Giacamo Conterno’s Barolo told me something I had never noticed about Barolo before, even though all of the underlying notes were the same: Barolo is majestic because of its contrasts.
After 22 years, the tannins were still firm. In fact, it is unlikely they would soften up much more. Yet, the texture of the wine was as perfect and silky as the greatest of Burgundies. The aromas are immediately pleasurable, but the flavours of the wine can be off-putting: beauty with ugliness. A pretty wine that is as mottled and tobacco-stained as an old drifter’s coat. And yet, somehow, it all makes sense.
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