Cascina Fontana - Barolo 2019

Add to Wish List

Cascina Fontana Description

Mario Fontana founded his estate in 1995 when he inherited 4 hectares of vines in La Morra and Castiglione Falletto. Mario's family has deep roots in Barolo and his philosophy was greatly influenced by his grandfather's experience. The work in the vineyard has always been organic without certification and Mario prefers to work as naturally in the cellar as possible; that means no additives during fermentation and patient elevage in botti and cement vats. This Barolo is drawn largely from the from his holdings in La Morra and is a wonderfully aromatic Nebbiolo. Roses, red cherries, blood orange leap out of the glass with just a touch of allspice. Fermented in stainless steel with native yeast, aged in 25-hectoliter botti for 2 years, blended and aged in cement for a further year before bottling.

Mario Fontana of Cascina Fontana describes his wines as “come una volta” — as in the past. His Cascina has only been around since 1995, but their wines are made like it’s still the 1960s or '70s.

Cascina Fontana is based in the hamlet of Perno. That’s technically in La Morra, but it’s quite close to where his vines are mostly located in Castiglione di Falletto. Castiglione — the smallest of Barolo’s major villages — is special. La Morra, to its west, is known mostly for its elegance and aromas. Serralunga, to its east, is known for power and structure. Castiglione is in the happy middle, and if you needed one word to describe it, it would be “balance”.

Fontana’s traditional techniques accentuate this. Macerations are fairly long — long enough to tame the alcohols — but not as long as some traditionalists, so the wines feel a little fresher and more approachable in youth. The approach with élevage is similar: a long, but not crazy long, two years in large Slavonian oak casks.

Mario’s Barolo is technically a normale, but it is decidedly a cut above most producers’ normales. Fontana produces only one other wine, and no single-vineyard wines, so you can actually think of this as their flagship Barolo. Indeed, the bulk of the grapes in today’s wines come from the renowned site of Villero. Most importantly, the quality is exceptional; it is hard to think of very many sub-$100 Barolos that reach this level.