Robert Parker 92

The Poderi Aldo Conterno 2017 Barolo Bussia shows a dark but busy quality of fruit that speaks more to the power of this hot vintage than it does the nuanced side of Nebbiolo. In this respect, the wine is quite typical of the 2017 growing season. It takes a while before the wine finds focus in the glass, but it does slowly come together to reveal broad layers of dark cherry, cassis and plum. There is some tannic tightness that leads to sour berry. A bit awkward at this young stage, it needs a few more years of cellar age to flesh out and reach balance." -Robert Parker

Wine Spectator 93

"A chameleonlike red, with hallmark aromas and flavors of tomato sauce, cherry, macerated plum, iron and wet hay. The ripe fruit gets sweeter in this red as it builds to the vice grip of tannins on the finish, with the sweet fruit returning in the end."

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Aldo Conterno passed away in 2012, but the estate is ably run by his sons, Franco, Stefano, and Giacomo. The beating heart of the operation, of course, is the “Bussia” vineyard in Monforte, one of the largest and best-known sites in all of Barolo, known for its bluish marl soils rich in calcium carbonate and iron.

Aldo’s vineyards were/are in the ‘Bussia’ hamlet of Monforte, with a little more of a full-south exposure than the west-facing Francia. Traditionally, the Aldo Conterno Barolos are perhaps a little burlier and darkly fruited than the earthy, ethereal Giacomo Conterno wines, though both produce some of the longest-lived wine in the zone.