2015 Paolo Conterno Riva Del Bric Barolo Piedmont 750 ml

It starts with Ginestra, the steeply sloping vineyard, revered as one of the greatest Barolo crus. Then comes Paolo Conterno, the family-owned estate that has been farming this hallowed ground for over 130 consecutive years—absolutely no one knows Ginestra like Conterno. Finally, the 93-point Riva Del Bric, an “expressive,” “very vibrant,” and exquisite translation of this singular piece of Piedmont. At $44 today, it’s also a singular Barolo value. 

In most cases, this wine would carry a price tag of close to $100. The highly pedigreed Cru Ginestra bottlings of Elio Grasso, Dominico Clerico, and Paolo Conterno all flirt with triple-digit price tags. In Conterno’s case, the $80 Cru Ginestra is harvested from 35-year-old Nebbiolo vines from the family's 25-acre vineyard. The “balanced and long,” Riva Del Bric Barolo comes out of that same exact vineyard, but from the family’s 25-year-old vines. 

Just a ten-year difference in vine age is the reason this stunner can earn high praise from Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate, which wrote, “This Barolo is great,” and, “It shows similar density and thickness of fiber that you get in the Ginestra cru,” and simultaneously cost half as much as its big brother. It’s a feat that only an estate like Conterno can pull off, given its long history and extensive holdings in this cru of crus. 

This is more than a chance to drink great under-$50 Barolo. It’s the chance to drink under-$50 Barolo with the pedigree of a bottle twice the price; the chance to drink under-$50 Barolo that will age for over a decade, something incredibly rare at this price point. We highly recommend it by the case. 

Just north of the Piedmontese village of Monforte d’Alba, Ginestra vineyard is perched at a steep 40-degree incline on calcareous, south-facing slopes—perfect for Nebbiolo. Wine Advocate called it an “excellent vineyard site,” nothing they “just love the wines from this long slope of sun-soaked vineyards that extends down from Monforte d'Alba.” Antonio Galloni rates it in his very top tier of Barolo crus, alongside vineyards like Falletto, Vigna Rionda, and Monprivato, calling it an “exceptional” terroir and praising the “generally big, broad-shouldered wines with firm, chalky tannins and the structure to develop beautifully in bottle.” 

It was Paolo Conterno himself who gave this extraordinary terroir its earliest in-bottle expression, way back in 1886. Since then, generations of Conterno descendants have lovingly tended the same land, passing down familial expertise and tradition, yielding greater wines vintage after vintage. 

The 2015 Riva Del Bric is the next in a long line of achievements, laden with black cherry, plum, candied cranberry, and rose petals. The aromatic nose flaunts licorice bark, tobacco, tar, and new leather while the full-bodied palate adds notes of balsamic, red earth, and black tea leaf tannins to the melange of flavors. The finish is lengthy and refined, ending with a greatness that rivals its opening. The greatness of Ginestra. 

When you consider the history and pedigree in this bottle, $44 almost seems like an unfair price. But after 130 years, Conterno isn’t chasing a quick buck, they’re chasing sustainable excellence, and that’s exactly what this is. Lock it in by the case.