Piedmont New Releases: Diego Conterno

The Conterno name can get a little confusing in Barolo, as it's found everywhere. In this case, Diego is related to the famous Conterno-Fantino winemaking family. Still, whilst of a similar high quality, his wine style is more classic, eschewing French oak barrels for large old botti for ageing. To add to the confusion, the Diego Conterno winery is next door to Giacomo

Conterno's, but they are not related. Along with his wife, Anna, and children, Stefano and Lorenza, Diego parted ways from the family estate in 2000, taking his share of 7.5 hectares of vineyards located in the village of Monforte, including a beautiful plot of Ginestra. Here, they farm fully organically, producing classic Monforte Barolo: fermented in cement and aged in botte grande. The first vintage under the Diego Conterno label was 2003, and the family have been going from strength to strength ever since, making a raft of beautiful Barolo as well as some very interesting Barbera, Dolcetto and a very rare local white grape called Nascetta. The winery gained full organic certification in 2014.