Aldo Conterno

Hardly any other winery became so successful so quickly. Not only because Aldo Conterno came from a well-known family of winegrowers, but also because he brought the highest quality right from the start

The Conterno family already produced wine in the Barolo region in the 19th century. As almost all families at that time, the wine was sold in barrels. Aldo's grandfather Giovanni was the first to believe in success through quality. He filled the first Barolo Riserva in the 1920s. However, Conterno wines first became famous through Aldo's father Giacomo Conterno, who took over the winery at the end of the 1930s. In 1961 the sons took over the company. While Giovanni wanted to rigorously continue the traditional style with which the Conternos became famous, Aldo wanted a softer, more fruity style. As the brothers could not agree, Aldo Conterno struck when the Fattoria Favot, a farm in the middle of the best locations of Bussia, was for sale and founded the Poderi Aldo Conterno in 1969.

However, to call him a "modernist" would not be right either, because he converted his style into 2,500 litre barrels and thus differed from the "Barolo Boys" who used barriques. Thus he achieved complex Barolo, which were more fruity and a little earlier accessible than those of the "real" traditionalists. Success proved him right. In the 1990s he successfully produced and sold up to 300,000 bottles per year. 

Yet he wasn't really satisfied. He began again to change and to set on still higher quality. The purchase of grapes was reduced and gradually completed. The own vineyards were converted to organic cultivation and the yield reduction was carried out even more rigorously. Today, only about 80,000 bottles are produced from 28 hectares of grapes.

In 2012, when Aldo Conterno died, his sons Franco and Giacomo continued the business. 

Top Aldo Conterno vintages are: 1996, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 & 2021.

FACTS

Year Founded: 1969
Owner: Franco, Stefano & Giacomo Conterno
Annual production: approx. 80,000 bottles
Vineyard: approx. 28 hectares
Organic & Biodynamic cultivation