96 point

This is very structured with fantastic tannins that frame the wine. Dark fruit with ripe strawberries, as well as wet earth and dried black truffles. Full and chewy. Tight finish. Needs four or five years to open. Try after 2025.

94 point

94P+: This wine boasts a very etched and linear quality that defines both the bouquet and the mouthfeel. The Conterno Fantino 2017 Barolo Castelletto Vigna Pressenda starts in little clicks with wild berry, cassis, dark plum, spice and tar. Those intervals add up quickly to form a greater sense of length and endurance that this wine, made with fruit from silty soils mixed with sand and clay, delivers in both the good years and the more difficult ones alike. I noted an exotic floral component in the 2016 vintage; however, this 2017 edition is far more rooted in dark primary fruit. Light touches of smoke and spice give lift to the finish.

94 point

The 2017 Barolo Castelletto Vigna Pressenda is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Rose petal, orange peel, cinnamon, cedar and red berry fruit all open in a beautifully layered, super-expressive Barolo from Conterno-Fantino. Beams of Castelletto tannin extend the finish while lending a real feeling of vibrancy throughout. The balance of purity and structure is compelling.

94 point

Vanilla, resin and eucalyptus aromas give way to cherry, plum, iron and tobacco flavors in this well-structured red, which is balanced and resonant on the long finish, needing time to absorb the oak.