Paolo Conterno La Ginestra Barbera d'Alba 2019
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Robert
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James
Suckling
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Dense ruby red with violet highlights and a nose of dark violets and red-berried fruit. Fresh and well-balanced on the palate, showing cherries and raspberries. Soft, warm entry with a good length finish.
Best served with hot hors-d'oeuvres, pasta with rich sauces, and stewed and boiled meat.
100% Barbera from 30-35 year old vines planted to calcareous clay soils in Monforte d’Alba.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening to a velvety dark appearance, the Paolo Conterno 2019 Barbera d'Alba La Ginestra (with 9,000 bottles made) shows dark fruit aromas and baked plum with light spice and tarry smoke. This vintage offers medium-rich concentration and a pretty touch of freshness on the close.
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James Suckling
Smoked meat, grilled plums and chocolate cherries on the nose. Fleshy and full-bodied with medium-firm tannins and a meaty finish.
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It all started way back in 1886, when Paolo Conterno founded the Casa della Ginestra, dedicated to the production of Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto wines. An indefatigable worker with a mind of great intuition, he devoted the most favourable parts of the Ginestra hillside to the growing of the grapes, subdividing them by type, exposure and terrain. Furthermore, he had the foresight to predict the existence of a market of connoisseurs of superior quality products, selling his own wine in wooden kegs and produced by himself in his own cellar. Paolo was succeeded by his son Carlo and his wife Giuseppina. The company was subsequently run by Paolo and Caterina Conterno and today the company is managed by their son Giorgio.
As in the past, each of us makes his own contribution, caring for the vineyards with scrupulous dedication, involving the successive generations. At one time, trust was placed in the few means available, and in perseverance and determination. Modern technology, with its labour-saving devices, spares us the exertions of those times and, in part thanks to the experience we have gained, enables us to operate in the best possible way and to reap great satisfaction and ever newer stimuli from our work
Friendly and approachable, Barbera produces wines in a wide range of styles, from youthful, fresh and fruity to serious, structured and age-worthy. Piedmont is the most famous source of Barbera; those from Asti and Alba garner the most praise. Barbera actually can adapt to many climates and enjoys success in some New World regions. Somm Secret—In the past it wasn’t common or even accepted to age Barbera in oak but today both styles—oaked and unoaked—abound and in fact most Piedmontese producers today produce both styles.
An historic village situated right in between the famous regions of Barolo and Barbaresco, Alba is also the name for the larger wine region surrounding the village.
In a sense, “Alba” is a catch-all phrase, and includes the declassified Nebbiolo wines made in Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the Nebbiolo grown just outside of these regions’ borders. In fact, Nebbiolo d’Alba is a softer, less tannic and more fruit-forward wine ready to drink within just a couple years of bottling. It is a great place to start if you want to begin to understand the grape. Likewise, the even broader category of Langhe Nebbiolo offers approachable and value-driven options as well.
Barbera, planted alongside Nebbiolo in the surrounding hills, and referred to as Barbera d’Alba, takes on a more powerful and concentrated personality compared to its counterparts in Asti.
Dolcetto is ubiquitous here and, known as Dolcetto d'Alba, can be found casually served alongside antipasti on the tables of Alba’s cafes and wine bars.
Not surprisingly, given its location, Alba is recognized as one of Italy’s premiere culinary destinations and is the home of the fall truffle fair, which attracts visitors from worldwide every year.