Regular Price $60, Brave New World Pricing $39.99 with shipping included on 6 bottles or more

Oh, man! Has the Brave New World of 2025 wine sales churned up something interesting and fun for us today! Poderi Aldo Conterno, of course, needs no introduction here! The son of Barolo icon Giacomo Conterno, Aldo, after a long stay in the United States, returned home in 1969 with the firm conviction that the family wines needed modernizing if they were to someday compete with the world’s best and set about creating a new paradigm at his own eponymous property based in what’s now the Bussia MGA in Monforte d’Alba. And the rest is, as they say, glorious history! Now run by Aldo’s three sons, the Conternos’ wines have been considered the epitome of a more modern take on the Nebbiolo grape for nearly 60 years! Making Barolo at that quality level requires focusing on the oldest vines on the property, and that means, inevitably, a long waiting period for those systematically-replanted younger vines not considered mature enough to take their place in the winery’s most vaunted cuvees. Instead, those Bussia vines under 15 years have long become ‘Il Favot,’ the Langhe Nebbiolo named after the Conterno family estate. As iconic, in its way, as the Barolos made here, the Nebbiolo slated for Il Favot sees a shorter maceration time and less time in wood than the big boys, being aged only a year in the small French barriques used to produce the previous vintage of the winery’s famous Bussiador Chardonnay. The resulting wine is a very classy, albeit far-readier-to-drink-young, bottle of Nebbiolo- an Aldo Conterno Bussia Barolo in a minor key.  The 2021, coming from one of the region’s most auspicious vintages ever, has an extra degree of gravitas to it, as well as a level of depth and elan one normally doesn’t see in the Langhe Nebbiolo category. There is a bit of flash here- a sumptuousness of texture and ebullience of aroma that really jumps from the bottle. I love those notes of cocoa powder, espresso, lilac and cedar that add complexity to a smoky, deep plunge into a pool of dark cherry, woodsy, loamy spice and dry earth. It’s truly a ‘tar and roses’ rendition of Langhe Nebb that offers up immediate appeal and, if you like, longer term age-ability too. Love this stuff and like to serve it with more primary dishes like a steak off the grill as well as with the braises and other long-cooked dishes we normally pair with Nebbiolo. We’re also very happy with the Brave New World price we have too. We’ve never seen this wine for under $50 before!