The 2009 Barolo Bussia is a magnificent wine that makes a bold opening statement thanks to the high caliber and intensity of its bouquet. Power and sheer determination set the wine on course smoothly over the palate and the quality of the tannin is firm and tense. The wine presents fruit characteristics of dried cherry and cassis that are not too obvious but are soon followed by delicate tobacco, Indian spice, cola, tar and licorice. It’s a picture-perfect young Barolo for 2009. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. The landscape of Italian wine has forever changed with the passing of three of its most legendary figures. Giuseppe “Beppe” Quintarelli of Valpolicella died in early 2012, Franco Biondi Santi of Montalcino passed earlier this year and Aldo Conterno left us, at the age of 81, in May 2012. Conterno was a transformative figure for Barolo whose creativity and interest in modern winemaking techniques forever changed the region. In the 1950s, at 23 years old, he moved to California to learn about the wine trade there. He decided to complete his mandatory Italian military service in the United States and ended up serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Illness meant he hadn’t been out much in public the last few years. As one producer told me, “You always felt his presence even if you didn’t always see him.” Importer: Massanois Imports, Scarsdale, NY; tel. (914) 722-9100