Roberto Conterno did not make his flagship wine, Monfortino, in 2016 or 2017, leaving all Francia fruit headed to his single-vineyard bottling instead. The Giacomo Conterno 2016 Barolo Francia is a rich and tightly knit wine with harder edges (certainly compared to the 2017) and a compact inner core of blackcurrant, licorice, smoky tar, violet and rusty nail. In fact, those pretty mineral nuances are very developed in this bottling and already show with clarity at this early stage in the wine's evolution. They add etched concentration and a sense of austerity to this very elegant and age-worthy vintage. This wine should not be opened before the 10-year mark, at a minimum.
