Italy · Langhe

Diego Conterno

Organic Monforte estate making classical Barolo from 7.5 hectares anchored by the Ginestra vineyard Diego planted in 1982, plus an indigenous Nascetta white.

The producer

Diego Conterno walked away from Conterno-Fantino, the modern Piemontese house he had co-founded eighteen years earlier, to farm his family's parcels in Monforte d'Alba under his own name. The thing he was going back for was a two-hectare plot in the Ginestra vineyard he had planted himself in 1982. The first bottle under the Diego Conterno label came from the 2003 harvest, made with static fermenters, large traditional botte grande, and no extraction shortcuts.

The estate covers 7.5 hectares across Monforte, certified organic since 2014. Nebbiolo grows on parcels within the Ginestra cru; Barbera, Dolcetto, and the indigenous white grape Nascetta complete the range. Son Stefano joined in 2010. The wines sit in the classical Piemontese tradition: long maceration, minimal intervention, Nebbiolo given time rather than technique.

Known for

Barolo del Comune di Monforte, Ginestra single-vineyard Barolo, Langhe Nascetta

Notable facts

The story

The Vineyard He Went Back For

In 2000, Diego Conterno ended his eighteen-year partnership at Conterno-Fantino, the Piemontese house he had co-founded with Guido Fantino in 1982. The Ginestra vineyard he had planted at the start of that partnership was now mature, its vines eighteen years old, its soil understood. He walked away from a successful label, from shared infrastructure, from the market position that Conterno-Fantino had built across two decades, to farm those parcels under his own name with classical methods he had set aside during the years when the Piemontese modernist approach dominated. He rented a cellar, filled it with large old botte grande, and waited for the 2003 harvest. That vintage became the first bottle with his name alone on the label.

From the atlas

Diego Conterno

At A Glance

The Producer

In 2000, Diego Conterno walked away from Conterno-Fantino, the modern Piemontese house he had co-founded eighteen years earlier, to farm his family's parcels in Monforte d'Alba under his own name. The thing he was going back for was a two-hectare plot in the Ginestra vineyard he had planted himself in 1982. He took no partner and no borrowed reputation. The first bottle under the Diego Conterno label came from the 2003 harvest.

His son Stefano joined the estate in 2010. The operation covers 7.5 hectares across Monforte, with Nebbiolo at the centre and Barbera, Dolcetto, and the indigenous white grape Nascetta filling out the range.

Place

Monforte d'Alba sits in the southern Langhe hills of Piemonte, one of eleven communes whose soils and Nebbiolo grapes legally define Barolo. Within Monforte, Ginestra is among the most discussed crus: a broad south-facing slope rising above the village, with soils mixing Helvetian limestone and compacted blue-grey Tortonian marl. The altitude and aspect slow ripening, which in Nebbiolo means longer hang time, firmer tannin, and wines built for ageing rather than early drinking.

The Ginestra MGA (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva) is the name that appears on single-vineyard Barolo labels from the cru. Lower in the range, the Barolo del Comune di Monforte label signals a blend from multiple Monforte parcels, a commune-level classification that places territory above single-site specificity.

The Nascetta white carries the Langhe DOC, a broader appellation that covers the hills between Alba and the Ligurian Apennines, used here because Nascetta does not qualify for Barolo's restricted Nebbiolo rules.

Soil And Site

The Ginestra slope combines two distinct geological layers: Helvetian limestone in the upper sections, which gives a chalky mineral quality to the wines, and Tortonian marl lower down, a dense blue-grey clay soil that retains water and contributes weight and grip to Nebbiolo's already firm tannin. Diego's core parcels, Pajana and Gris, sit within this cru. The Ferrione, San Pietro, and Sori plots, along with the Le Coste parcel rented from 2018, extend the estate across different aspects and elevations in Monforte. Organic farming across all 7.5 hectares has been in place since 2010 and certified since 2014.

Story

Diego trained at the Umberto I Enological School before apprenticing under Beppe Colla at Prunotto, one of the key Albese houses of the 1970s. When he and Guido Fantino co-founded Conterno-Fantino in 1982, it was part of a generation of Piemontese producers rethinking Barolo: shorter macerations, French oak barriques, wines that reached the market earlier and found buyers beyond Italy.

Diego planted Ginestra that same year. By 2000, that vineyard was eighteen years old and Conterno-Fantino was well-established. He left anyway. The choice was not a commercial calculation; it was a return to classical methods and to land he had farmed from the start. Static fermenters rather than rotary tanks. Large traditional botte grande rather than small barriques. Longer macerations. The vineyard doing the majority of the work.

Stefano's arrival in 2010 brought a second generation onto Ginestra, and the organic conversion that had begun that year was completed with certification in 2014. The estate has not changed its direction since Diego founded it: long aging, minimal intervention, Nebbiolo given time.

Vineyards And Cellar

All parcels are farmed organically. No herbicides, no synthetic treatments. The vineyards are managed to keep yields low and give the fruit its best chance to express the Monforte soils.

In the cellar, Diego uses static fermenters rather than rotary tanks. Static fermentation is slower and gentler, extracting colour and tannin through natural cap management rather than mechanical punch-down cycles, which preserves more aromatic complexity and finer-grained tannin in Nebbiolo. Aging takes place in large traditional botte grande, the 25 to 50 hectolitre Slavonian oak casks used in classical Piemontese cellars. These casks breathe slowly and impart almost no oak flavour; they allow the wine to develop over time without adding vanilla or toasted wood character. Barolo opens with an earthy, floral complexity and firms up into its tannin over years, not months.

Wines

The Barolo del Comune di Monforte is a blend from the Pajana and Gris parcels within the Ginestra cru. These two plots differ in aspect and soil composition; blended, they produce a Barolo that shows the breadth of Ginestra rather than the character of a single piece of it. The wine sits on firm Nebbiolo tannin, with dried rose, tar, and dark cherry at the centre, and the mineral austerity that Monforte limestone tends to give. It is built to age for at least a decade.

The single-vineyard Ginestra Barolo isolates the two-hectare parcel planted in 1982. Older vines and a narrower selection mean deeper colour, more concentrated fruit, and a longer finishing grip. It needs more time than the commune bottling and rewards cellaring.

Barbera d'Alba and Dolcetto d'Alba are grown on Monforte estate parcels farmed to the same organic standard. The Barbera is rounder and more immediately approachable: high natural acidity, dark plum, and no need for extended aging. The Dolcetto is softer still, with violet fruit and a characteristic bitter almond finish. It is the natural table wine of the range.

The Langhe Nascetta is the estate's white. Nascetta is an indigenous Piemontese grape that had nearly disappeared by the late twentieth century before a small group of Langhe producers revived it. Diego's version pours a bright yellow straw and opens with peppery spice, melon rind, lime blossoms, and white pineapple. On the palate it turns to sage and rosemary with a waxy texture, crisp acidity, and a clean mineral finish. It is one of the more characterful whites from this variety currently in production.

In The Glass

The Barolos open slowly. From the glass comes dried rose, tobacco, tar, and dark cherry; the Nebbiolo aromatics are defined by the Monforte limestone that sits below the vine roots. In the mouth, the tannin is firm and drying, the acidity is high and clean, and the fruit is concentrated without being heavy. The commune-level Barolo shows more give early; the Ginestra single-vineyard tightens into its tannin and asks for more time. Both carry the mineral bite that distinguishes Monforte Barolo from the silkier expressions grown on sandier soils in Barolo and La Morra. After ten years, the tar integrates, the dried fruit deepens, and the grip softens just enough to let the wine open.

The Nascetta is the opposite register: bright, aromatic, and ready. Peppery spice and white pineapple rise first, then lime blossom and melon rind. The mouthfeel is waxy, the acidity is cutting, and the finish is mineral without being austere. It drinks well young.

A Bottle To Understand It

Barolo del Comune di Monforte is the right first bottle. It blends the Pajana and Gris parcels within Ginestra, so it gives Monforte and the Ginestra cru together before the single-vineyard version asks for a committed cellar. Dried rose and tar on the nose, firm drying tannin in the mouth, high acidity, a long mineral finish. It is classically made Barolo: no oak flavour from the botte grande, no extraction shortcut from the static fermenters. Drink it at ten years from vintage if you can wait, or open it now with several hours of air and a good reason.

Anecdote

In 2000, Diego Conterno ended his eighteen-year partnership at Conterno-Fantino, the Piemontese house he had co-founded with Guido Fantino in 1982. The practical decision took months; the real decision had probably been made earlier. The Ginestra vineyard he had planted at the start of that partnership in 1982 was now mature, its vines eighteen years old, its soil understood. He walked away from a successful label, from the shared infrastructure, from the market position that Conterno-Fantino had built across two decades, to farm those parcels under his own name with classical methods he had set aside during the years when the Piemontese modernist approach dominated the market. He rented a cellar, filled it with large old botte grande, and waited for the 2003 harvest. That vintage became the first bottle with his name alone on the label.

Final Word

Diego Conterno makes Barolo the way it was made before the modernist movement of the 1980s reshaped Piemonte. Long maceration, traditional large casks, organic farming across 7.5 hectares of Monforte, with the Ginestra vineyard at the centre. He helped build the modern approach at Conterno-Fantino and then chose to leave it. The wines ask for patience and return it.

Sources

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