TN: 2004 Giacomo Conterno - Barbera - Cascina Francia

This is so far above the level of any other barbera I know that you almost wonder if it’s the same grape.

The '04 bursts with ripe black cherries and a hint of blueberry and blackberry. There’s acid, but not the screechy kind that can infect barbera. Just enough to give the wine lift amid all that fruit. Usually it takes some new oak to produce a barbera with this much sweetness, but then the fruit is masked. This is aged in big tanks, which preserves a kind of purity to the fruit.

This was in the 90-ish range when first poured. It shows a little oxidation four hours after the cork was pulled (this was not decanted). So drink up, I guess. The last bottle I opened two years ago held up a bit better.

Not terribly complex. That would be too much to ask from a barbera. But it really hit the spot with salame.

The '05 is drinking very nicely now, too.

Too bad this is $55+ now. At $30 or less, I was a buyer in most vintages. At the current price, there are too many other, more deeply satisfying wines, including lots of Barolo and Barbaresco.

Thanks for the note, John. If I wanted to teach someone about Barbera, I’d serve them a Conterno.

I haven’t found that they develop much with aging, though, not that that’s the ultimate standard for a wine.

Teaching people off the Conterno barbera may raise their expectations a little too high!

I agree that they don’t develop much complexity with age. The grape imposes its own limits. But I have found that the Cascina Francia mellows out. Since there isn’t much tannin and acids should remain constant, I’m not sure why that is, but they have a softness with age that’s quite different from their vibrant grapiness young. While I like them young, there is something quite special about well-aged bottles from good years.

So can’t even make 15 years in a good vintage? Uggh. I was hoping Conterno could have aged better…

I have bottles of the 04, 05, 06, 07 and agree. Bold and monolithic. Lacking Barbera typicality. No finesse. Stopped buying. Not worth the money IMO.

Jurgen - Do you know of any barbera that isn’t kind of monolithic?

I always liked Pian Romualdo from Prunotto. I think the wines from Braida are better than the Conternos. And especially La Suculé from Lo Zoccolaio did impress me several times and the wine is way cheaper. All the mention wines are more complex than the Conternos IMO.

I definitely agree with Jurgen with respect to the 2006 vintage - this wine used to be a case buy for me, but I’ve always described that particular vintage as Barbera on steroids, and I stopped buying it after that. According to CT, I still have 7 bottles of it in the cellar, so I should probably dig up a bottle and see if I like it any better now due to the passage of time.

To me, though, the 2004 has always been a very good vintage for this wine - I have it in magnum, and at least in that format, it has always shown well.

Thanks. I’ll have to check out the Prunotto and the Lo Zoccolaio.

I know the Braida wines. They rely a little too much on new oak for my tastes. (And I’m not puritanical about new oak on barbera.)

Granted it’s hard to find, but I prefer Cappellano.

I remember reading an interview with the son whom reckons consume within 5 years of age
i love them but admit I drink them immediately with Italian food. The 2014 Cerretta is awesomely great.

… and Galloni who raves about this Barberi mentioned they can age like the Baroli of Conterno … I don´t think so …

Big fan of Conterno Barbera’s (Francia & Cerretta). Have not tasted the '04 Francia, but have loved the '05, '10, '11, '12, & '13.

The '05 Francia was the Barbera that 1st opened my eyes to Killer Barbera (thanks, Eric!).
I definitely don’t consider these simple wines, but they certainly are put together quite differently than many reds with high-ish acidity, low-ish tannins, & often high-ish alcohol. Have not yet had one of these Conterno’s come across as hot, with their generally excellent intensity, acidity, & dry extract.

A few of my favorites over the past few years.

2005 GIACOMO CONTERNO CASCINA FRANCIA BARBERA (93 Points)
Fairly deep ruby. NOSE > Wild red-fruit & minerality. Wild-Cherry, Red-Cherry, Raspberry, Choke-Cherry, Blackberry, licorice, & a smoky complexity.
PALATE > Big, rich, but very tight. Great tension. Wild/Red/Choke-Cherry, Blackberry/Raspberry/Blueberry, licorice, limestone/minerals, & wood-smoke.
Excellent balance, acidity, depth, length, & intensity. The tension between rich ripeness, & tight, concentrated red-fruit is beautiful. Ripe tannins take a back-seat to the gorgeous fruit, & add back-bone/structure. Impressive.

2011 GIACOMO CONTERNO CASCINA FRANCIA BARBERA (94+ Points)
Deep, bright ruby red. Big, aromatic, exotic, savory, & rich. Intense Morello-cherry, red-raspberry, tart choke-cherry, lilac,
red & black-mulberry, beef-blood, lavender, violet, & wild red, blue & purple forest-fruit.
Elegant, intense red/mineral fruit. Med-light tannins. Excellent acidity, intensity, depth & length.
Gorgeous, Beautiful, Luscious, Pure fruit. Great Barbera - this has it all. (slow-oxed 5 hr, then decanted)

2012 GIACOMO CONTERNO FRANCIA BARBERA (94+ POINTS)
Gorgeously pure, intense red Morello-cherry/cherry-stone, red-raspberry, wineberry, red-mulberry, violet, rosa-ragusa, &
rose-petal on the nose. The sexy, sappy red/wild fruit is a very big WOW!
Palate is tight, ripe, sappy, fluid. lean, & long with beautiful red, Morello-cherry, floral fruit. Packed with juicy/fruity minerality on the nose & palate. High acidity, but has the fruit to carry it.
Low-ish tannin. Great balance really accentuates the stunning fruit, & elegance. Beautiful already with some air, but really needs some time. Might never quite match the '11, but this pretty, elegant, fruit-driven beauty will have a longer drinking window, & should put on a little bit of weight with some time in the cellar, & likely gain another 1/2 a point or so.

The '10 & '13 Francia are just slightly behind the '11 & '12, & ahead of the '05 for me (the '10 with darker fruit, but not quite as massive as the '11; the '13 more red fruit-ish, & closer stylistically to the '12).

I usually like the Vietti Scarrone almost as much as the Francia, & the '11 Scarrone VV has been spectacular the few times I’ve tasted - best Barbera I’ve had to date.

Have not tried an Altare Larigi Barbera yet, but an '11 La Villa (60/40 Barbera/Nebbiolo) gave the '11 Scarrone VV a run for its money as the greatest Barbera based wine I’ve had.

Thanks for reviving the thread, Rob. After some earlier commentary from John and Jurgen regarding the 2006 vintage, I pulled a bottle and checked it out this weekend.

Have to admit that I liked it better now than I did on release - it seems better balanced and less “over the top”, so that gives me renewed hope for my remaining bottles .

I had the 05, 06, 07 within the last 3 weeks. The 2006 is the best vintage of the 3. But I am still not a fan. It´s a matter of personal taste as always. But the wines are bold and very ripe lacking elegance and freshness. The 07 is even borderline overripe IMO. I have the feeling that Conterno tries to put Barbera into another level but that´s not good for the grape IMO. If you consider the price of Barbera Casino Francia it´s possible to buy very good Barbaresci for the same amount of money (Cantina del Pino i.e. or Produttori). I have´t to think one second which wine I prefer.

I completely agree that, at today’s price, I can buy Barbaresco – and Barolo – that’s much more interesting.

Still, I like these wines and I’m glad I bought them when the price wasn’t crazy. Since I find a lot of barbera a little too “fresh” – like a slap in the face with acid – I enjoy the richness, fruit and extract of Conterno’s wines.

For ages I was quite dismissive of Barbera as a wine of no great complexity. A few of the bigger Barbera wines in the Braida mould (including Braida, plus Accornero from Monferrato) convinced me it was worth exploring further, and since then I’ve found a few lighter ones that I like, favourite of the moment being Franco Boassso / Gabutti, which gets rather interesting with a handful of years on it. It will never be a favourite, but there are some enjoyable wines out there, and it’s always an option where the restaurant don’t have wines with age on them.

FWIW, had a “second day” 2003 Barbera CF this weekend. A friend had opened the night before…(and was serving us 1970 Leoville-Barton that night) To my taste, the Conterno was horrible; smelled of prunes and raisins. No fresh fruit on the palate; all pruny stuff with a very short, alcoholic finish. I know it’s 2003 a killer dry year in Europe and that my friend enjoyed it the night before, but…when I got to taste it…it was very unpleasant and unimpressive.

Day 2 + 2003 = not promising

I understand. That’s why I mentioned the history.