2018 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cerretta

93 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Oct 2022). The 2018 Barolo Cerretta comes across as a touch linear in this vintage. Then again, that is the style of the year. Lavender, rose petal, mint, dried flowers, licorice and blood orange are nicely woven together. The 2018 is an attractive wine to be sure, but it also shows the nervy, edgy style of the year.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Barrel Sample: 95-97. Tasted from barrel, the Giacomo Conterno 2018 Barolo Cerretta is shaping up to be a beauty. What stands out most at this very young stage is the quality and the elegant tightness of the tannins. Cerretta fruit from Serralunga d'Alba makes for powerful, structured and concentrated Nebbiolo that is delivered with naked clarity and outstanding purity. These qualities are clearly linked to the vineyard site and less to the conservative efforts executed at the winery. You taste the crunch or the nervous quality of the grape skins and pulp with dark and purple berry nuances and rusty or mineral overtones that hint at the more significant presence of clay in these soils.
Barrel Sample: 95-97

Giacomo Conterno is widely regarded as Piedmont’s benchmark Barolo producer, known for powerful, long-lived Nebbiolo made in a steadfastly traditional style. Founded in the early 1900s, the estate rose under Giovanni Conterno, whose Monfortino and Cascina Francia set global standards and whose son Roberto has carried that legacy forward without compromise. The turning point came in 1974 with the purchase of Cascina Francia in Serralunga, which ended the reliance on purchased fruit and solidified the estate’s reputation. Roberto has since expanded the holdings with Nebbiolo and Barbera in Cerretta (2008) and nearly all of Arione (2015), adding prized wines without changing the core approach: extended fermentations, long aging, immaculate vineyard work, and thoughtful use of technology only when it improves traditional methods. Demand for the small-production Cerretta Barolo now mirrors that of the estate’s other wines, all of which continue to reflect the Conterno family’s focus on purity, structure, and longevity.