The certified organic Conterno Fantino 2021 Langhe Chardonnay Bastía is one of the most sophisticated and ambitious whites made in this territory. This oak-aged Chardonnay shows a hint of reduction on first nose that bodes well for its near and medium-term evolution. The wine is redolent of orchard fruit, pear, allspice and a touch of clove embedded in an orange peel. Some 12,000 bottles are released.

Always a special treat to taste, the Conterno Fantino 2020 Langhe Chardonnay Bastía is a delicious and generous wine. This Chardonnay offers mature peach and melon, and that fruit is cut sharply with mineral, spice and toast. At the end of the day, this wine is really all about generosity, fullness and texture. It boasts a semi-rich creamy palate that wraps smoothly over your senses. It concludes with citrusy end notes. Production includes 9,478 bottles and some larger-format bottles.

The Conterno Fantino 2019 Langhe Chardonnay Bastía is a beautifully luminous and brilliant wine that shines bright in the glass. This vintage shows creamy richness, fruit freshness and excellent balance overall. The bouquet reveals orchard fruit, almond blossom, honey and beeswax. There are also slightly toasted or nutty aromas that contribute to the overall complexity of this celebrated Chardonnay from the limestone clay and sand soils of Piedmont. Exactly 6,482 bottles were released.

The Conterno Fantino 2018 Langhe Chardonnay Bastía is a generous and elaborate expression that binds toasted oak to ripe pear, melon and orchard fruit. The wine reveals a luminous golden color and an enriched texture with glycerin that feels smooth and creamy. The full-bodied texture of this wine could stand up to spicy pork or white meat, or even an appetizer platter of oysters or raw shellfish. This oak-aged and slightly buttery Chardonnay shows good versatility.

The oak-fermented 2015 Langhe Chardonnay Bastía is a direct, steady and textured wine that leaves the palate refreshed and revived. In a tasting of heavy red wines like Barolo and Barbaresco, a direct and luminous white wine like this most certainly hits the spot. The vines were planted in 1992 in one of the highest altitude spots of Monforte d'Alba (nor far from where the Dolcetto is planted). This is a linear and tight white wine that is enhanced by subtle dryness and crisp natural acidity.