2015 Giacomo Conterno Nebbiolo d'Alba Arione
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Tasting notes
Roberto Conterno made three wines from his holdings in Arione in 2015, the first year he owned the vineyard. The first two are the Barolo Arione, reviewed here, while the second is the portion of Arione destined for the Monfortino, both of which are still aging in wood. And then there is the third cask. That wine is a one-off made from the portion of Arione that lies in Roddino, and therefore outside the Barolo appellation, before Conterno ripped out the vines to replant. I had a chance to taste all three 2015s a few times. As it turns out, the Nebbiolo d'Alba was clearly the most interesting of the three Arione wines. In the glass, the 2015 Nebbiolo d'Alba is explosive and stunningly beautiful, with marvelous aromatic intensity and tons of character. As good as the 2015 is from bottle, it was even better from barrel! In fact, the 2015 Nebbiolo d'Alba is one of the most unforgettable wines I have tasted here. Conterno decided to bottle the 2015 Nebbiolo d'Alba entirely in magnums and the wine will be sold only for charity. Readers who can find it are in for a thrilling drinking experience.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
This is a special wine that exists—and does not exist. The 2015 Nebbiolo d'Alba Arione is a wine destined for charity auction only. Planned production will be 2,000 bottles, 800 magnums and 100 three-liter bottles. This sample was poured from botte number 111. You might remember that Roberto Conterno purchased the nine-hectare Arione vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba from Cantina Gigi Rosso in 2015. The Conterno crew tended to the land in 2016 and replanted in 2017. That means that fruit from 2015 needed to go to a special wine. Roberto Conterno has done a fantastic job vinifying the fruit and maintaining a superiore sense of varietal purity throughout. So, you might ask, when is the next time we see fruit from Arione in Conterno's production? Roberto tells me with certainty that it will one day end up in Monfortino. That could happen sooner than you think. This estate has absolutely not declared if it will make Monfortino in 2015 yet. But if it does, you could already see some Arione in there. That's how excited he is about this cru.
About the producer
Giacomo Conterno is arguably Barolo’s most celebrated estate. While most famous for its Monfortino Riserva, the quality found in every bottling of Nebbiolo and Barbera at this address makes them a benchmark producer for both varieties.