Producer
Aldo Conterno is one of the historic names of Italian wine. The Conterno family has been making wine in Monforte since at least the 1700s. Aldo’s grandfather, Giovanni Conterno, founded his own winery in 1908 which was then run by his son, Giacomo. After a stint in the USA in the 1950s, Aldo worked with his older brother Giovanni in this winery until he decided to strike out on his own in 1969. Aldo’s three sons now make the wine (Stefano) and run the business (Franco and Giacomo). Over the years, production has been deliberately reduced and the family now produces 80,000 bottles rather than the 200,000 produced in 1998
Vineyards
The Conterno family owns 25 hectares of vineyard in the Barolo area. Barolo Granbussia is made from the oldest vines of their three best vineyard sites, all of which are situated on the hill of Bussia: Vigna Romirasco (70%), Vigna Cicala (15%) and Vigna Colonello (15%). This wine is produced only in the best years and in limited quantities.
Vinification
The grapes from the three vineyards which make up Granbussia were fermented, and the wine then aged, separately before being blended to make the final wine. Fermentation for all three took place in stainless-steel tanks. The must remained on the skins for 30 days until fermentation was complete. Temperatures varied during fermentation but did not exceed 32°C. Each wine was aged for 32 months in large Slavonian oak casks before the final Granbussia blend was assembled. At this point, the wine was put back into stainless-steel tanks for a further one to two years before bottling. It remained in bottle until its release nine years after harvest.