Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno
Giorgio Conterno and his Baroli from Piedmont, is one of Baur au Lac Vins' long-standing partners. He talks about his new Tuscan passion with beaming eyes:
"Fate has brought me to Ortaglia. By chance I had heard about it and a little later I was there. It was immediately clear to me that Ortaglia was a special place. It took a whole eight years for the takeover, but it was worth it. Tuscany and Piedmont are the two regions in which I can best express my passion - with a life close to nature and working in the vineyard to create wines, as I have learned according to old tradition."
White wines from Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno
Red wines from Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno
from Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno
Ortaglia is indeed a special place, that Francesco Ist of Medici chose in 1586 as the summer residence for his lover Bianca Cappello. The estate lies between the hills of Fiesole at the foot of the Apennines and offers a fantastic view of the city of Florence. If you're in the nearby and want to spend a few relaxing days in seclusion, you will find in the luxurious Villa Ortaglia and Casa Anforti places to stay full of charm and casual Italian elegance. www.villaortagliaflorence.com
The vineyard covers 12 hectares of land with soils of loamy limestone and sandstone marl. At about 600 metres above sea level, the climate is temperate, Mediterranean influenced, but with large temperature differences between day and night. From Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Malbec, Gamay, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon Giorgio Conterno creates his own wines full of character, which do not follow the mainstream taste.
But Giorgio has his roots in Piedmont. He runs the family winery, which was founded in 1886 by Paolo Conterno, for the 4th generation. His extraordinary Baroli from the magnificent La Ginestra vineyard in Monforte d'Alba speak for his passionate talent, which is based on traditional craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation. He is the prudent keeper of the family tradition. It would not be appropriate to change anything about this unique gift of heritage to serve only one's own comfort, profit or personal complacency: "Non si modifica niente di un grande Barolo, di una grande Barbera e di un grande Dolcetto".
About 10 hectares of southern and south-eastern exposure with limestone and clayey marl soils, the so-called Helveziano, at about 300 to 350 metres above sea level belong to the estate. Much manual work is required in the often steep slopes with inclinations of up to 38 %. Outside the Barolo area, an additional 2 hectares of Barbera are cultivated in the Bricco Sant'Ambrogio in Roddi d'Alba. All wines are aged in large French oak barrels, as tradition dictates.
Producer
Sette Cieli
It isn’t easy to ascend to seventh heaven. And indeed, the road to the wine estate Sette Cieli is fraught with some difficulties. You might need to take a few detours (seventh heaven isn’t on Google Maps’ radar), but the Ratti family’s wine paradise is more than worth the effort.
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.
Bodegas Ribas
The island wines from Mallorca have been blessed for years with high quality and Mediterranean charm. Along with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it is above all the indigenous varieties such as Mantonegro, Gargollassa, Callet and Prensal blanc, that make Mallorca a true “treasure island”. Grapes that exist only here reflect the unmistakable character of this unique wine island.