The 2015 Barolo Ginestra shows real complexity and depth. It exudes a profound nature in general. Mineral tones lead the clean, fresh entry, followed by more savory notes. This is from Paolo Conterno's home vineyard cru, with vines planted right up to the edges of the winery and the family house. This Barolo is nuanced and multifaceted, and it will stand up to a couple of decades in the cellar.
The 2015 Barolo Ginestra opens with scents of raspberry, orange peel, star anise and cinnamon. Powerful and wiry, the 2015 expresses the essence of Ginestra, with that combination of aromatic intensity and nervous energy that is such a signature. I would cellar it for a few years, as the tannins are a bit edgy at this stage. Alternatively, a few hours of air will to the trick.
A delicate version, this nonetheless features a solid backbone of tannins and lively acidity driving the cherry, strawberry, soy, clay and leafy tobacco flavors. Tightly wound, turning more dense on the finish. Best from 2022 through 2040. 1,250 cases made, 200 cases imported.
Giorgio Conterno did a fine job handling a tricky vintage with his 2014 Ginestra, and the 2015 from this 3ha site in Monforte is magnificent too. Tasted from cask, it’s still reticent but is showing brooding cherry aromas. It’s very ripe and fleshy on the plump but concentrated palate, with elegant tannins and a very long, stylish finish. Perfectly balanced, with neither toughness nor softness.
The dark-berry and fresh mushroom aromas are compelling in this wine. Full-bodied, tight and chewy with wonderful texture and tannins. Solid 2015. Drink from 2022.
Fabulous wine from one of the great crus of Monforte! Like Rocche or Brunate, Ginestra, for the most part, faces southeast (like many of the great vineyards around Europe). But Ginestra is different from Rocche and Brunate in one very important regard: it has a particularly high concentration of limestone in the soils, and it therefore produces very structured wines.
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 now five generations.
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 10 cases at this astounding price! While it lasts!
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. Immersed in the Langhe, with a panorama of unequalled beauty, the winery and family home is situated in the historical “Ginestra” cru, one of the top crus of Monforte.
