Barolo Bussia, Poderi Aldo Conterno 2021

A graceful and elegant nose of vibrant citrus, lemon leaves, licorice, dried cherries, sweet violets, camphor and balsamic. The palate is astonishing for the refinement of the tannins. It’s full in body, with exuberant acidity and a polished texture, finishing with cherry stones and licorice.

This is one of the most impactful and resonant 2021 estate cuvées of this vintage. The nose is incredible with an intense fanfare of potent, fruit-soaked tones, with ridiculously exotic hints of bark, earth, chypre and grape skin, but at no stage does it lapse into pushing the palate in a direction it does not enjoy. With five weeks of skin contact, the grapes just kept giving. The palate is not as mighty as one expects, with stunning, mouth-watering acidity and tannins in concert with layers and layers of dark fruit, bitter chocolate, the darkest roses and violets and exceptional saline highlights. This is a staggeringly good wine and one with so much volume of fruit coupled to gripping freshness and lift. It is a wine to cellar, and it nods more to the single vineyards than hosts of previous vintages. Amazing.

With almost 20ha in Bussia, the Aldo Conterno estate has the potential to produce a substantial amount of wine. However, the philosophy has long been to select the best and sell the rest of the grapes. In 2021, Giacomo Conterno said that the only concern was making overly opulent wines. There is a certain richness to the fruit, however it is well tempered by considerable structure. The nose flits between floral perfumes of rose and almond blossom to earthier nuances of wet autumn leaves and tobacco. Upfront tannins coat the mouth with grainy texture, while steely, vibrating acidity injects energy. But the mid-palate is still very shut down and those decisively dry tannins need time.