Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A perfumed Barolo with mint, licorice, graphite, earth, strawberries and fresh red cherries on the nose. Full-bodied and full of fruit concentration that coats the tannins. Velvety on the mid-palate, with integrated, lifted acidity. Try from 2027.
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Wine Spectator
This red deftly combines power and grace, featuring well-defined flavors of cherry, raspberry, rose, iron and underbrush, with dense, energetic tannins. Vibrant and harmonious in its youthful way, offering length and a terrific aftertaste.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening to aromas of dried cherry and blackcurrant, the organic Conterno Fantino 2021 Barolo Ginestra Vigna del Gris makes a fleshy and enriched appearance with hints of black licorice, tar and crushed rose at the back. The wine has a softer, velvety quality of tannins that makes it slightly more approachable in the medium term, but I nevertheless recommend more bottle age.
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Vinous
The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Vigna del Gris captures a more delicate, sensual side of Ginestra. Deep and pliant in the glass, it offers gorgeous mid-palate pliancy and fine overall depth. The 2021 is a seriously impressive Barolo of substance and presence. The balance of fruit, acid and textural resonance makes it incredibly appealing in the early going.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
