Iconic Giacomo Conterno - Invest In Single Vineyard Barolo: 2018 Barolo Cascina Francia

You have been offered wines from Giacomo Conterno before, because this Barolo giant delivers one stellar wine after another. Here is one more - more specifically, latest release from the single-vineyard Barolo Cascina Francia.

This is an investment in one of the strongest Barolo producers. And an investment in a wine that, from an investment perspective, has shown great price tendencies.

Add to this the fact that in 2022 Giacomo Conterno Cascina Francia gained a deserved place on the Liv-ex 2021 Italy 100 index as a result of increased trading activity. Trading activity that nicely reflects increased demand for Cascina Francia, largely due to Robert Conterno's eye for producing sublime Barolo.

Robert Conterno - The Most Talented Barolista

Giacomo Conterno rings a bell, and not without reason. Giacomo Conterno is one of the biggest names from Piedmont in Italy and perhaps the most important of all when it comes to Barolo.

Generation after generation, the Barolo torch has been deservedly passed down to be in the safe keeping of Roberto Conterno, who can boast of being the most talented Barolista in both vineyard and cellar. A talent that is obviously transferred to all the wines of Conterno.

Iconic Cascina Francia

Until 1974 Giacomo Conterno bought his grapes from local farmers, but at this time more and more farmers started to produce wine under their own name. As a result, Conterno bought the already renowned Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga and made it iconic - this vineyard has been instrumental in the house's immense recognition and international success.

It is from the Cascina Francia vineyard that Conterno's flagship wine Monfortino comes. The Monfortino is produced only in the very best vintages, which is also expressed in a completely different price range - Cascina Francia is released in virtually all vintages and is described as the Monfortino's highly competent sister: And this 2018 Conterno Cascina Francia is only produced in 18,000 bottles, which is extremely sparse by Italian standards.

Quality And Consistent Stable Price Increases

Like Giacomo Conterno's other top wines, Cascina Francia is also a guarantee of sublime quality, which year after year is reflected in great scores. This 2018 Cascina Francia has only been tasted by Vinous and Wine Advocate, both of which have given it a barrel score. Vinous gives 93-96 points, while Wine Advocate gives 94-97 points acknowledged with an opinion from Monica Larner:

"I have opened my range of scores accordingly to compensate for the magical unknowns that are likely to occur as the wine moves toward greater harmony and integration."

Whatever "the magical unknowns" will mean for the final score, trends from wine-searcher.com may shed light on the price trend of Cascina Francia. The trend here is that the price is steadily rising across five vintages*, scored between 94 and 98 by the critics above, and all of which have been on the market for more than five years. The trend is that all five wines have seen an average annual price increase since release** of between 9.5 % and 11.9 %, with the releases with the most years on the market representing the highest increases.

*2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008

** 2012 (6 years since release), 2011 (7 years since release), 2010 (8 years since release), 2009 (9 years since release) 2008 (10 years since release)

Rarewine Invest's Opinion

There is simply no such thing as a black sheep among the Barolos of Conterno. There is no doubt that Giacomo Conterno have gained their fame due to high Barolo levels and their Monfortino - a Monfortino that also costs significantly more than this one. With such hype, the spotlight will automatically hit other gems from the same producer. Especially if that gem is flanked by great scores.

A hyped brand will of course boost demand, and this fact underpins Conterno's ranking on the Italy 100 index. The fact that the price trend is even consistently upwards is just another plus for this case.