My Article: Aldo Conterno

It’s going to be hard to think about going to Piedmont and not seeing Aldo Conterno, the great producer of Barolo. He died on May 30 in his hometown of Monforte d’Alba at 81.

He was such a strong character, the sort of man you wanted to always have on your side. When you sat by him, you felt secure and positive. It was no surprise that he often told stories of the Korean War and how he appreciated spending time with his US army company during the conflict. “How do you think I picked up my American accent?” he said with his dry sense of humor. He spoke English with a Bronx accent his entire life.

He also liked to joke about how he may have ended up being a leading producer of wine in Napa Valley if it hadn’t been for the war. A distant uncle invited him to immigrate to the United States in the early 1950s, but just a few months after arriving in Northern California he was drafted to Korea. On his return from the war, his uncle had already lost interest in making Californian wine, so Aldo went back to Italy.

I tried to visit Aldo’s fortress-like winery on the hillsides below the town of Montforte d’Alba at least once a year to taste his new releases as well as barrel samples. He was a man of chosen words. In fact, he probably spoke more when he was using English instead of Italian.

He liked to talk about the differences in vintages and character of his single vineyard Barolos including Romirasco, Cicala and Colonnello. He was most proud of his reserve blend of Barolo from all three vineyards: Barolo Granbussia Riserva. “This is the best Barolo my family can produce,” he said to me on many occasions. It’s not released until seven years after the harvest and only in top vintages.

He was never very positive about the small French oak barrels. He much preferred the old large Slavonian oak casks in his ultra-clean cellars where his Barolos matured before bottling. “I don’t want my wines to taste of oak,” he said. “They must taste of fruit and their origins.”

Aldo said that his three sons Franco, Giacomo and Stefano could experiment with oak on such wines as Il Favot and Bussiador – the former a Nebbiolo aged in barrels and the latter a Chardonnay fermented and aged in barrels.

I enjoyed debating the virtues of various vintages with Aldo. He tended to like more classic style years compared to the hot years I liked. “But you might be right in the end,” he said. “They are much better than I could have imagined.”

Aldo seldom liked going out of his winery and vineyards. In fact, in recent years, I often asked if Aldo would be joining us if I was going out for a meal with his son Franco, and he would simply reply, “Papa prefers to eat at home. My mother is a very good cook and he doesn’t like all the commotion outside.”

A few years ago, I had dinner with Aldo and his family with a few friends and Aldo opened an amazing bottle of 1971 Gran Bussia Riserva. I caught a few seconds of the dinner on video and I thought you would enjoy seeing it. He explained how great wines were all about harmony and balance.

Aldo was a man who enjoyed life and brought lots of joy to life though his wines and friendship.