Barolo, Piedmont
Cantina del Colle
7 vintages since 2020. 3 of 4 blocks open for commission.
"Four MGAs, four expressions of Nebbiolo, one family. Five-year commitments align with the minimum aging for Barolo DOCG."
Winemaker
Matteo Conterno
Philosophy
The land speaks; the winemaker translates.
Matteo Conterno is the third generation at Cantina del Colle, a family estate in Monforte d'Alba. He makes Barolo from four MGAs — Bussia, Ginestra, Mosconi, and a small parcel in Castelletto. He trained under his uncle, Aldo, and took the reins in 2019 after five vintages in Australia's Adelaide Hills.
Nebbiolo is impossible. It ripens late, it has thin skin, it oxidizes faster than any grape has a right to, and it refuses to make pleasant wine when it's young. That's the point. A Barolo isn't meant to drink in year five. It's meant to drink in year twenty. If you commit to a block, you're committing to wait.
Our four MGAs are different wines. Bussia is powerful and dark. Ginestra is elegant, almost silky. Mosconi is tannic and slow. Castelletto is the outlier — floral, perfumed, surprising. I keep them separate through fermentation and aging. I don't believe in blending a cru away.
We farm traditionally. Long macerations, large botti, no new oak. If you're used to international-style Barolo with American oak and fruit-forward extraction, you'll find ours austere. That's also the point. We're not making Barolo for a score. We're making it the way my grandfather made it.
Choose a plot
A schematic of the vineyard. Each rectangle is a named block. Click one to see the details — vine count, varietal, soil, exposure, yield, price.
Schematic, not to scale. Relative positions reflect the vineyard map but block sizes are stylized for clarity.
Available
Bussia Sud
- Vine count
- 300 vines
- Varietal
- Nebbiolo, Lampia clone
- Soil
- Sant'Agata Fossil Marl, south-facing
- Exposure
- Full sun, sheltered by ridge
- Planted
- 1982
- Typical yield
- 1.1 tons — roughly 90 cases
- Price
- $11,600/year
- Commitment
- 5 years
The arc
What three to five years looks like.
The relationship changes year over year. You don't show up in year five the way you showed up in year one.
You visit for harvest. You meet the crew. You taste the verijuice, the post-ferment sample, the first barrel pulls. You're still learning the shape of your block — what the drainage looks like, where the morning sun lands, how the fruit tastes two weeks before the pick.
The fine print
What the commitment covers — and what it doesn't.
What's included
Sample progression
Verijuice, post-ferment sample, quarterly barrel pulls, and finished wine. Three to four times the volume of a Crew Vintner tier.
Voting on major decisions
Pick timing, oak regime, blend trials, bottling date. The winemaker makes the call — you're in the room.
Custom label with your name
On the back label of every bottle from your block, every vintage, for the length of your commitment.
Annual allocation
Typical: 12–36 bottles depending on plot size and commitment tier.
Harvest visit invitation
Open invitation to be on the ground the day of the pick, every vintage you commit to.
Priority access to the winery's library
Older vintages, small-lot releases, and back-library allocations before they're offered elsewhere.
Direct line to the winemaker
Text, call, email. Not a concierge, not a customer service queue. The winemaker.
What's not
Land ownership
You do not own the vines. The vineyard farms, harvests, and makes the wine. A Block Commission is a long-term relationship, not a real estate transaction.
Farming labor
You are not expected to work the vineyard. You're welcome to visit, prune, help pick — but none of it is required and none of it is assumed.
Risk-free returns
Vintages vary. A cold, wet year means less wine. A hot year means riper wine. We don't make up the difference with fruit from other blocks. That's wine.
Pricing
How it's structured.
Commitment
3 or 5 years
Three-year commitments are the standard. Five-year commitments are offered on every block and get preferential renewal, older library access, and longer relationships with the winemaker. Some older or rarer plots are five-year only.
Payment cadence
Annual or monthly
Pay for the full year up front, or split into twelve monthly payments. Monthly cadence carries a small service fee. First payment clears before any farming decisions are shared.
What sets the price
Plot and varietal
Price scales with plot size, varietal desirability, vine age, and expected yield. An old-vine parcel on a steep slope costs more than a flat parcel with young vines — regardless of how much wine it makes.
Example at Cantina del Colle
Bussia Sud (300 vines, Nebbiolo): $11,600/year × 5 years = $58,000 total
All-in, including samples, allocation, harvest visits, and custom label. Shipping within the continental US included; international pickup at the winery or flat-fee ship.
Next step
Schedule a consultation.
Block Commissions involve contracts and real money. Before you commit, we want to talk. Tell us which plot interests you — we'll set up a call with the winemaker.
Schedule a consultationA real conversation with Matteo Conterno, not a form response.