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Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra 2016  - First Bottle

Reviews

95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
The Paolo Conterno 2016 Barolo Ginestra is the wine that best represents the personality and work of its creator, winemaker and proprietor Giorgio Conterno. Fruit is selected from the part of the Ginestra cru that is planted to 40-year-old vines of Nebbiolo. It is fermented in stainless steel and ages in botte grande for 36 months. You taste concentrated fruit, with sweet flavors of blackberry and dried cherry. Delicate aromas of grilled herb, licorice and camphor ash slowly come into view. The wine closes with elegant but softly yielding tannins.
95 Wine and Spirits -
Giorgio Conterno makes this wine with fruit from the south-facing slopes in the Ginestra cru, where the grapes gained optimal ripeness in the fresh 2016 vintage. Flavors of crisp red cherry and pomegranate are laced with notes of menthol, thyme and licorice that enliven the fruit tones. The cool, ferrous structure keeps the flavors taut and will benefit from some time in the cellar.
93 James Suckling -
Beautiful and balanced red with dried-strawberry, cedar and floral aromas and flavors that follow to a medium body, integrated tannins and a fresh and bright finish. Drink after 2021.
93 Vinous -
The 2016 Barolo Ginestra shows all of the aromatic and flavor intrigue that is such a signature of this site. Pine, menthol, licorice, orange peel, mint and macerated red cherry all flesh out effortlessly. Mid-weight structure and a good bit of inner sweetness gives the 2016 a feeling of accessibility, until the firm Ginestra tannins kick in. Time in the glass brings out a nice kick of textural breadth. The 2016 is such a pretty wine. I would cellar it for a few years, though.

Technical Details

  • BlendNebbiolo
  • WinemakerGiorgio Conterno
  • CountryItaly
  • RegionPiedmont
  • AppellationBarolo
  • VineyardGinestra
  • Alcohol15.5%

Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra 2016

Nebbiolo  |  Italy
WA95, W&S95, JS93, VN93

27% off retail!
Too late, we are SOLD OUT!

This Ginestra just CRUSHES IT at the price point. The cru, located in Monforte d’Alba, with excellent southern exposure and 35-38 year old vines, delivers all the classic aromas and flavors we love about world-class Nebbiolo, and we are thrilled not to have to pay $200+ for it. Ginestra always pops in a special way because of a particularly high concentration of limestone in the soils, and it therefore produces very energetic but structured wines..

Gorgeous dried cherry, blood orange and citrus zest, tea and menthol and dried flowers...amazingly complex and layered -- one for the ages! The balance and seamlessness is just...EXQUISITE! This has a long life ahead of it, but what we love about 2016s is they so show much balance, even at this early stage in their life, and they can be enjoyed now after a long decant, or by your grandchildren in 30 years.

Paolo Conterno founded Casa della Ginestra in 1886, not long after the birth of Barolo as we know it. He was one of the very first growers in the Langhe to sell barrels of wine directly to consumers from the cellar, eschewing the well-established négociants of the time. He developed a loyal following of connoisseurs demanding his wines, and the independent estate has prospered over five generations now.

Today, Giorgio Conterno is at the helm of the winery, which produces brilliant, classically styled expressions from the Ginestra cru, renowned for wines with dark colors, brooding tannins and incredible aromatics - hallmarks of its dense, clay-heavy Helvetian soil and relatively high elevation. The estate’s style is rooted in tradition: extended macerations and long aging in large casks, with the resulting wines perfectly reflecting Ginestra’s excellence: laser pure perfumes, great balance, approachability and long potential for aging.

We have only 62 bottles...while they last!

PAIRING IDEAS: Here in Yountville, Napa Valley, we have a fantastic place called Bistro Jeanty (I know, I know, it’s French…), and they do a dish of rabbit 3 ways. It’s PERFECT for this. If you’re feeling adventurous, rabbit is NOT that challenging. If you are not...make a perfect plate of pasta -- cacio e pepe, and let the Barolo SHINE!.

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Everybody’s going on tour again (yay!!), and we just bought Green Day tix for their Oakland concert. Crank up pretty much ANYTHING from them and rock out with this killer Barolo!

About the Producer

It all started way back in 1886, when Paolo Conterno founded the Casa della Ginestra, dedicated to the production of Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto wines. An indefatigable worker with a mind of great intuition, he devoted the most favorable parts of the Ginestra hillside to the growing of the grapes, subdividing them by type, exposure and terrain. Furthermore, he had the foresight to predict the existence of a market of connoisseurs of superior quality products, selling his own wine in wooden kegs and produced by himself in his own cellar. Paolo was succeeded by his son Carlo and his wife Giuseppina. The company was subsequently run by Paolo and Caterina Conterno and today the company is managed by their son Giorgio.