Elio Altare

Elio has done Piedmont wines a great service over the last two decades. Not only has the outstanding quality of his delightful ‘La Morra’ Barolo wines raised Piedmont’s profile, but he has taken many younger growers, such as Marco Marengo, under his wing giving them advice and instilling confidence in them to make and bottle their own wines. Elio’s production of modern style Burgundy-influenced Barolos is, alas, miniature, meaning many of the Cru Barolos sell out before they even reach our list. Always experimenting and looking to perfect his art, Elio makes some stunning wine outside of his strong Barolo portfolio, including the old vines single vineyard Larigi Barbera and the Barbera Nebbiolo blend, La Villa. As Elio steps ever closer to full retirement, his talented daughter Silvia has taken greater control of wine production, carrying on the estate's concept of producing "modern classics." One of Silvia's recent initiatives was to produce the uno per uno cuvée, a staggeringly labour intense wine produced by cutting berries (selecting from the estate's best plots) off of their stalks for whole berry fermentation. The result is one of the modern day greats of Barolo. Their flagship wine, the Barolo blend, undergoes a short fermentation of up to a week, followed by ageing in used oak barriques for 2 years, the same method applies to the Cru Barolos apart from the fact that there is some new oak - anything up to 30%. The langhe wines are all aged for a shorter time, 12-6 months, in 100% new oak. Despite these modern methods oak or alcohol are not at all the feature of these wines you'd expect. Rather they are packed with vivid character, offer silky textures and are some of the most intense wines Piedmont has to offer. Viticulture is organic and sulphur usuage is incredibly low. These are some of the most honest, pure and environmentally friendly wines in the region.

2015 Vintage

This year’s new releases represent a changing of the guard at Elio Altare. Elio Altare’s daughter Silvia had already begun to influence production during the 2015 vintage and has since assumed overall responsibility for running the estate. Don’t expect radical changes, the emphasis of this “traditionally modern” estate, to quote her, will always be on pristine fruit, vineyard health and care for the environment and those who work in the vines. That is to say: Hard work, no chemicals and keeping sulphur usage to a minimum. Silvia’s take on 2015? “a radiant vintage, exuberantly fragrant and with fresh clear fruit. We have every reason to think that Barolo 2015 represents one of the greatest vintages of the past years. The wines are thrilling to taste, comparable to 2001, with power with elegance and good acidity. With the blessings from 2015, we are back with the production of the Unoperuno. For the first time it is not just sourced from the Arborina cru but will be a blend of all the crus we work with. We realized we could add depth and structure to the wine by blending the crus.” Our view? Thrilling, precise wines that offer clear vineyard to vineyard distinctions. An estate that is reaching new heights.

2016 Vintage

A stellar range that, particularly with Uno Per Uno and Cerretta Vigna Bricco, rate among the greatest wines of their respective vintages. Elio Altare can rest assured the estate is in good hands, Silvia appears to be on fire. Expanding on the new vintages Silvia explains “2016 was a vintage with a slow vegetative cycle with a very late harvest compared to the average past years, and this trend produced wines characterised by a brilliant balance with pronounced aromatics and excellent structure. We can for sure say that this will be a memorable vintage, and one to buy magnums. These wines will stack up against the great vintages like 2010 and 2001, and if you blink your eyes, the allocations will disappear!”. Equally effusive about 2014 she continues “the sceptics asked, why produce Riserva in 2014? Because elegance and balance are our guiding principles.” With the clear quality they have produced in Cerretta, few could argue with their decision to release this. As Silvia says challenging vintages are often the ones to buy Altare!

2017 Vintage

2017 was an early harvest here, a week before their neighbours – which is not uncommon at Altare, the aim being to maintain as much freshness and integrity to the fruit as possible and avoiding heaviness in the wines. They have without question succeeded in this in 2017, a wonderful array of wines that reflect the sunny ripeness of the vintage, whilst remaining seductive and eminently drinkable. Describing this dry vintage, Silvia noted back in September 2020 that “the transition from 2016 to 2017 should be a smooth one. 2017 is definitely a warmer, more open knit vintage than 2016, more like 2015 with less punch, but we have noticed over the past few months the wines have integrated more”. Whilst not as complete as 2016, to our tastes these wines are a notch above 2015 with fresher fruit profiles and finer tannins, an easy vintage to love!

2018 Vintage

The ambition and passion of this estate is inspiring; not content with decades-worth of cult status, it continues to strive for ever higher levels of quality - guided by the infectious energy of Silvia Altare. This is an exemplary range of authentic, characterful and deftly made wines displaying higher degrees of transparency than ever before. Silva describes 2018 as "a farmer's vintage, beginning with a wet spring that required a ton of vineyard work. This is definitely a contadino’ s vintage, and our wines are especially fragrant and aromatic, definitely more on the lighter side, and a good contrast with the richness of 2017. Through all the tastings of the 18s, we were always impressed with the transparency and freshness. Thanks to the wines I have tasted from Elio’s library and to the notes he wrote down in his cellar book, 2018 can be compared to the lightness and freshness of 1998. These wines are still sharp and on point now after almost 25 years. Do not assume a lighter aromatic lifted vintage like 18 will not go the distance. These will be textbook Altare wines that will be singing in 15-20 years."

2019 Vintage The ever gregarious Silvia Altare describes 2019 thus: “Barolo 2019 represents the perfect compromise between power and elegance. I would like to call this vintage classic, as the wines are richer than the 2018s, but they are not as dense as the 2017s. There is a saying among the Piemontese growers that ‘summer determines quantity and fall determines quality.’ 2019 had some peaks of heat during summer and we had to manage the vineyard work accordingly. We did a lighter than normal green harvest, but the heat stress gave us a smaller crop, so our production went down about 20%. Quality is exceptional.” This is an excellent set of wines from Altare, in a vintage that appears to suit their open-knit, textural style perfectly. It culminates in a spectacular Cannubi which shows all the majestic pedigree of the site. Quantities are sadly as small as ever,however, we would like to draw your attention to the fabulous Arborina 2019 – a high toned, gorgeous La Morra Barolo that will delight for many years to come.

2020 Vintage Silvia Altare believes “2020 offers an incredible range of Barolo, with a finesse and delicacy that we haven’t seen in a few years. I think of vintages from the past like 1998. As soon as it was released it seemed simple and small but over the years it grew and now it is considered one of the most sought-after vintages, still sharp and on point.” Quotable as she is, “still sharp and on point” is a phrase that encapsulates our view of Altare as a whole. Silvia must be one of the very last to work with French barrique only. She is master of the art. By gradually reducing the amount of new oak over the years to zero on the Classico and just 10-15% on the crus, Silvia’s wines retain the same full, even-keeled feel that followers of Altare have adored over the decades, but with improved transparency of fruit, freshness and vineyard signatures. Suave but corseted in sweet tannins, the 2020s here are all silk and allure. The 2021 Langhe Rossos are particularly good too. Silvia is proud to say that “they represent continuity in the path set out by Elio.” However, flavescenza dorata is steadily killing the Larigi Barbera vines and yields are down from 3000 bottles to an unsustainable 900 bottles a year. Buy the juice of these 75 year old vines today, before they are gone forever. And a final insider’s tip, the 2020 Barolo Classico exceptionally includes a good dollop of fruit from Cerretta. It shows.

2021 Vintage

Silvia Altare asserts that “2021 is consistently elegant throughout the range. All the wines are very distinct and precisely show the site characteristics. This is a vintage where all the single vineyards shine. I’m also proud to announce that I was able to renew the Cannubi vineyard rent. This was a big sword of Damocles I had over my head. It’s now a relief to know that I will be able to continue working with this prestigious vineyard.” On that front, Silvia’s 2021 Cannubi is a masterclass in balancing richness and sparkle in true Altare fashion. As one of the very last producers to work exclusively with French barriques, Silvia is a master of the art. By gradually reducing the amount of new oak over the years to zero on the Classico and just 10-15% on the crus, her wines retain the same full, even-keeled feel that followers of Altare have adored over the years, but now come with improved transparency of fruit and energy. The 2021s are as seamless and seductive as ever. When pushed to describe the vintage in a single word, Silvia smiled and said, “BOMBA!”