Giacomo Conterno
Giacomo Conterno's benchmark Barolo: 100% Nebbiolo from the Cascina Francia monopole in Serralunga d'Alba, aged four years in large oak botti. Tar, dried rose and red cherry over a powerful, age-worthy frame to cellar.
Drinkers on Vivino return to tar, leather and dried rose over red cherry, the signature of mature Serralunga Nebbiolo. This is Giacomo Conterno's traditional Barolo, fermented in untoasted Austrian oak and aged four years in large botti.
Mature Cascina Francia opens with tar, dried rose and leather over red cherry, the savoury Serralunga register Vivino drinkers return to across hundreds of ratings. Violet and a dusting of tobacco follow, classic Nebbiolo lifted by four years in large Austrian oak botti.
Rose petal
Violet
Cherry
Tobacco
Tar
Forest Floor
Leather
LiquoriceFirm, fine-grained tannin and bright acidity frame red cherry, liquorice and a savoury, almost mineral core off the calcareous Francia vineyard south of Serralunga d'Alba. Powerful and structured at 14.5%, it shows the estate's long traditional maceration rather than oak sweetness.
Long and savoury, the Cascina Francia tannin grips through a tarry, dried-herb close that points to decades in the cellar.
One of Barolo's reference wines: Vivino drinkers rate the recent vintages 4.4 to 4.6 across hundreds of ratings, and the 2016 sits in Vivino's top 1% worldwide. A traditional, age-worthy Serralunga Nebbiolo for the cellar, not a young pour.
A blue-chip Barolo only a handful of UK merchants stock. The vintages listed here run from the warm 2017 through to the 2020, every one 750ml of Nebbiolo from the Cascina Francia monopole in Serralunga d'Alba.
Built for the cellar and the table rather than a weeknight, this is a high-tannin Serralunga Barolo that scores for ageing and occasion over value, given its icon-level price from about 184 pounds.
A blue-chip, high-prestige Barolo from one of Piedmont's most revered estates, made for landmark occasions.
Serralunga structure, DOCG ageing and four years in cask give 20 to 40 years of cellar potential, among the longest-lived Barolo.
High-tannin, high-acid Nebbiolo is a benchmark partner for rich meat and Piedmontese cuisine, though it needs substantial food rather than light dishes.
Icon-priced from about 184 pounds, well above the Barolo category median, so value scores low despite the quality; you pay for the Conterno name and Serralunga monopole.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Barolo denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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Three vintages sit together here: the riper, warmer 2017, the cooler and more classical 2018 that needs years to open, and the balanced 2020. Each is 100% Nebbiolo from the same Serralunga monopole.
A warm but balanced 2020 with ripe, perfumed fruit and good freshness, a touch more accessible in youth than the structured 2018 while still built to age.
A cooler, classical 2018 with firm, edgy tannins that needs years to open; built for the long haul, give it well over a decade in the cellar.
A hot, dry 2017 gave riper fruit and softer tannins than a classic Barolo year; Conterno's Serralunga site and traditional handling kept freshness, making this the most approachable of the three early.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Giovanni Conterno bought the 14-hectare Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga d'Alba in 1974, and it has been the estate's monopole ever since. Roberto Conterno still works it in the strict traditional style, and the wine sets a bar critics measure other Barolo against.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Barolo is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Barolo falls within Piedmont , covering Cuneo, Langhe: Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, Diano d'Alba, Cherasco, Roddi. The denomination is further divided into 11 sub-zones.
Single-vineyard Nebbiolo from a 14-hectare monopole the estate has owned since 1974; estate Serralunga fruit commands far more than blended Barolo.
The wine rests in large casks for 48 months before bottling, tying up capital and cellar space long before a single bottle is sold.
Hand-harvested fruit and macerations up to 30 days in untoasted Austrian oak vats are labour and time intensive versus a modern, faster cuvee.
Giacomo Conterno is a blue-chip Barolo name; UK merchant prices for current Cascina Francia vintages here run from about 184 pounds.
Cascina Francia ages in large neutral botti reused for years, so per-bottle oak cost is far lower than for Barolo matured in new French barriques.
Dishes that complement this wine
High tannin, bright acidity and savoury tar and truffle aromatics point to rich, slow-cooked meat and Piedmontese earth. Brasato al Barolo is the home match; mature Nebbiolo also loves truffle risotto and game.
Cascina Francia's firm Nebbiolo tannin needs the collagen and fat of long-braised red meat; the gelatine coats the palate so the grip reads as velvet, while the wine's Serralunga acidity lifts the richness.
Try with: Beef stew · Lamb shank · Rack of lamb · More pairings →
This is one of Barolo's most powerful, structured profiles, built on Serralunga d'Alba fruit; it stands up to gamey venison and a full roast where a lighter red would simply disappear.
Try with: Venison Stew · Sunday Roast Beef · Beef Wellington · More pairings →
With age the wine turns to tar, dried rose and truffle, the earthy notes Vivino drinkers flag most; those savoury aromatics mirror Piedmont's porcini and white-truffle dishes.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Truffle risotto · Porcini mushroom risotto · More pairings →
Nebbiolo keeps bright acidity beneath the tannin; it cuts hard Alpine and Piedmontese cheeses such as aged Castelmagno and Parmigiano, refreshing the palate between bites.
Try with: Cheese board · Aged Parmigiano · Castelmagno · More pairings →
The acidity that lets this Barolo age also makes it the natural partner for brasato al Barolo, where the beef is braised in Nebbiolo; wine and sauce share the same savoury backbone.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Agnolotti del plin · Tajarin with ragù · More pairings →
At 14.5% with grippy tannin, this Barolo amplifies chilli burn and turns metallic against oily or raw fish; keep it away from vindaloo, fierce Sichuan heat and sushi.
Skip with: Vindaloo · Szechuan beef · Sushi · Grilled mackerel · Pairing guide →
Serralunga structure and four years in cask make this a wine to keep. The classical 2018 is built to run several decades, and even the warmer 2017 rewards a decade or more in the cellar before the tannin settles.
Peak around 2034. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Serralunga structure, DOCG ageing and four years in cask give 20 to 40 years of cellar potential, among the longest-lived Barolo.
£184.36 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 30 May 2026, 16:23 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is the estate's traditional Barolo, 100% Nebbiolo from the Cascina Francia vineyard, a monopole in Serralunga d'Alba that Giovanni Conterno bought in 1974. It is aged four years in large oak casks.
Both originate in the Francia vineyard. Cascina Francia is the regular Barolo, made in every good vintage; Monfortino is the Riserva, made only in exceptional years with longer maceration and around six to seven years in cask.
Give them time. The cooler, classical 2018 needs the longest and rewards a decade or more; the warmer 2017 is a little more approachable; the balanced 2020 will drink well from the late 2020s.
Rich, slow-cooked meat and Piedmontese earth: brasato al Barolo, game such as venison, truffle and porcini risotto, and hard aged cheese. Its tannin and acidity cut through fat and protein.
Tiny production from a single Serralunga monopole, four years of cask ageing before release, and Giacomo Conterno's blue-chip reputation push prices above most Barolo, with UK bottles here from about 184 pounds.
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