2018 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Francia
Community Tasting Note
Robmcl920 Likes this wine:
Monday, April 3, 2023 - The ‘18 Francia is the largest scale Barolo I’ve tasted from this vintage. It is medium to full in body, showing more concentration than any other wine I’ve tasted in ‘18, although this comes at the expense of finesse, at least for now. This is a tannic beast of a wine that is not approachable right now.
The aromatics were nicely perfumed and are signature Conterno Francia, with darker red cherry and plum fruit, dried roses, balsamic, and sweet spices. On the palate, the wine is far less inviting. There is a rush of concentrated, sweet dark red fruit and spices unlike any wine I’ve tasted in this vintage in its depth, but then the tannins hit like a brick wall. The tannins are fine for the vintage, but considerably less finessed than in the better years, when in this wine or the Monfortino the tannins seem to melt into the wine.
I can see the ‘18 Francia having the most aging potential of any 2018 Barolo based on this tasting. However, it is going to need a lot of time, I’d guess a decade or more before it is really in a good drinking window given the aggressive texture.
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