Conterno Fantino, Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) 2011

Conterno Fantino almost always treats wines from this top Monforte d’Alba site to a lot of new wood, and consequently they can take years to loosen up and show the wonderful appeal they often achieve in their maturity.  However, the 2011 is very quick out of the starting blocks, with some topnotes of smoke and toast that indicate the wood treatment, but then a lovely swath of ripe fruit that dominated the mid-palate and over-rides the tannins in the finish.