Mario 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. We love them.

Cascina Fontana is based in the hamlet of Perno. That’s technically in Monforte d’Alba, but his family and most of his vines are in nearby 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”.

For a long while, Fontana blended his Castiglione fruit with some fruit from La Morra and simply called his wine Barolo. He continues to release a Barolo normale, but since 2013 he has also released a wine purely from his Castiglione holdings, and puts the name of the village on the label.

Because this is “come una volta”, Fontana’s techniques are very traditional. 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.

The result is a wine that is old-fashioned in style, but more current in terms of approachability and elegance. And he’s very good at achieving this balance – so good, that Gambero Rosso just named Mario wine-maker of the year! This unfortunately means that his wines will be a little harder to get than usual this year. 

Cascina Fontana Barolo del Comune di Castiglione Falletto 2019 - $129.99