An aged tasting of Elio Altare wines with Silvia Altare
E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR
Tasted June 25, 2014 by David Paris (dbp) with 1,509 views
Introduction
Another great tasting put on by the folks at E&R as part of their 15 year anniversary. I was literally leaving for Italy (and Barolo) the day after this tasting, so it was a fantastic launching off point for me. I have honestly always stayed clear of the wines of Elio Altare as I tend to enjoy the strictly traditional side of Barolo and as we all know, Elio lead the modernist movement. What better way to have a deep dive introduction to the wines than this lineup?
Ed has a long history with Elio Altare and had a lot of great words to share about Elio during the night. Whether you agree with the style of these wines or not, I think it's hard to argue otherwise that Elio had a major impact on the global Barolo market, and who knows if we'd all even have the access to the traditional wines either if the modernist movement led by Elio never took place.
Silvia was a wonderful leader of this tasting, and I really enjoyed all that she had to share. It really was a wonderful time, and some of the philosophies of the winery really align with my beliefs... they've been organic since 1974, Elio grows his own cows because he "can't get good shit." What he means is all the manure they have access to is from animals full of hormones, which he doesn't want to put in his vineyard... so, he grows his own cows. Lots of nice principals... but man, when it comes to the wine making, I just can't get into these wines. I literally do not get these wines. I can not understand how anyone thinks these wines age well. Sometimes when I disagree with someone on whether a wine is good or not I can totally see their perspective. Not so much here... when these wines age they taste like rotting animals. Why would anyone like that? The "modernist" movement makes wines that are more fruit filled and drinkable when young, yet I find them to have none of the bright fruit with age that I love in traditional Barolos. This was actually a fantastic tasting, because it really drove home that I simply do not like this style of winemaking in Barolo. Several of these wines have CT averages in the mid-90s and I enjoyed them in the 70s and 80s. Amazing disconnect.
Flight 1 - Dolcetto, Barbera, & Langhe Nebbiolo (12 notes)
Red
2012 Elio Altare Dolcetto d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
Silvia said this is done with rotary fermentation at high temperature. During the fermentation they drain the wine and finish the ferment off the skins. No filtration is done (Silvia says this makes the wine chewier). This wine sees no wood. Rich and think aromas that are quite creamy and lush. Pretty decadent nose of chocolate pudding. Soft texturally and fairly heavy in the mouth; thick and plush. Dark fruit throughout and feels extracted. Soft heft on the finish and transitions to puckering and bitter tannins. Again, feels extracted.
Red
1994 Elio Altare Dolcetto d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba
Aromas of lots of wet leather shoes with some chemical products on them. It smells like a Payless shoe store. Kind of gnarly. Similar palate, with lots of glue and chemical flavors mixed with fundip candy and some slight wet animal fur. Puckering and bitter finish, with meat, heft, and a tartness.
Red
2012 Elio Altare Barbera d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba
Wow does this ever smell rich and hugely extracted! It's stewed, with some chemicals and booze in there. Dark flavors on the palate and fairly thin in body. Fat flavors, puckering and gritty. Fat and puckering finish, which is tart, rich and thick. Quite dark in complexion.
Red
1994 Elio Altare Barbera d'Alba
Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba
Very old, stewed notes. Like a rotting, dead animal. Rich, thick palate texture still, but continual flavors of wet animal. Thick, tar like finish that's alcoholic and tastes of stewed old fruit.
Red
2010 Elio Altare Langhe Barbera Larigi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
This wine is Barbera, but it doesn't say so on the label as they want to signify this as different. Silvia mentioned that Elio was one of the first to think Barbera was an ageable grape so he went after this style with the first vintage of it in 1983. It sees 90% new oak (medium toast) for 18 months. The aromas here are very large; feels like a tar coated Douglas Fir tree. Totally odd but nice. Soft, rich and thick on the palate, with some heavy extract noted. Definitely oak intrudes to the profile as its held in the mouth. Lots of oak on thee finish as well. Very thick and heavy; coating. Puckering, but off balanced. Silvia says the wood is well integrated, but I don't find it so at all... not sure how making an "ageable" Barbera means covering everything in wood notes...
Red
2008 Elio Altare Langhe Barbera Larigi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Smooth and soft aromas, with nice, fairly elegant fruit here. Nice purity of aroma. Soft, rich flavors on palate entry initally, but as its held the complexion gets darker and darker with some pine tree flavors. Tart, too. Puckering acidity on the finish but it's still a bit too hefty.
Red
1999 Elio Altare Langhe Barbera Larigi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Stewed and old aromas that are really funky... like a dead animal. Really bad. Heavy palate texture with tons of funky flavors. Tartness too, but that funk, old wood notes, and dead animal are ever-present. More rancid funk on the tart, bitter finish. Pretty awful...
Red
1993 Elio Altare Langhe Barbera Vigna Larigi
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Softer aromas than the previous, but there's still some old dead animal here, just less. Rich and fruit filled on the palate. Pleasing tart fruit, and it's actually integrated fairly well without any of those nasty old flavors. Puckering and tart finish that lingers long, even if it is a little straight forward in profile. Compared to the 1999, this doesn't really taste all that old.
Red
2010 Elio Altare Langhe La Villa
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, made as a tribute to Elio's father. It only sees 10% new wood. The aromas are rich, elegant, and juicy. Soft, with some puckering tree notes. Rich, but heavy wood still noted on the palate, but here it's better integrated with that lovely fruit. Soft, puckeringly tart on the finish, with nice intensity that lingers long. Some hope was restored in the lineup with this wine!
Red
1989 Elio Altare Langhe Nebbiolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Smells precisely like wet pizza. Like, a pizza that's been sitting in the delivery cardboard box for too long and then you poured water on it. Pretty rancid. Old notes on the palate, with tart puckering sensations. Very puckering and bitter, but it actually lingers well and leaves the palate tasting nice.
Red
1999 Elio Altare Langhe Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Quite nice aromas. Hefty, but very pleasing, showing nice Nebbiolo tart notes. Lovely and elegant. Nice palate entry with lots of intensity and tannins. Puckering and lean, gritty and intense... very brutal, but in a nice way. Some herbal notes, but still very primary. Very puckering and brutal tannins still present on the finish. Still, quite nice, intense, but very primary and lots of structure.
Red
1988 Elio Altare Langhe Vigna Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Again smells like rotting furry animals... lots of intense herbs and spices, too. Some nice spicy notes, like a spiced liquor. Rich palate entry that's soft in texture. Tart and puckering, but pretty mellow without much fruit. Intense notes on the finish and very puckering at the end. Again, not much fruit present.
Flight 2 - The Barolo (11 notes)
Silvia's comment was how "They don't taste modern when aged!" Well... yeah, I guess I agree with that. As you see, I didn't dislike the current releases. They are drinkable and nice, even if they aren't the best style for my palate. But they do not taste drinkable at all when they age. They taste horrible and rotten. To me, that is the taste of aged modern made Barolo, though.
Red
2010 Elio Altare Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A sample carried by Silvia as this had not yet hit our market. The aromas are very intense and heavy. Some wood notes, and very intense and extracted. Mostly wood aromas, but there's also some cherry. Thick and heavy palate entry. Doesn't taste like my knowledge of Barolo at all. Puckering and tart; tight. Tons of grit and puckering tannins. Very bitter and puckering on the finish, but really brutally young. While I found this atypical to my experience of traditional Barolos, it was actually quite nice. I'd like to say it just needs more time, but I don't think these modern wines age well (per what's about to come in the lineup...)
Red
2009 Elio Altare Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
This wine traditionally has fruit from Castiglione Falleto and Serelunga d'Alba, but lately they're blending in La More fruit, too. Hefty and thick aromas with lots of concentration. Very soft and elegant palate entry. Tart, puckering notes on a really gritty palate, but the fruit is really smooth and soft. Nice. Very puckering and tart on the finish, with nice elegant fruit and smoothness. Very nice, but quite tight now.
Red
1998 Elio Altare Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Uh oh, with age comes those nasty animal notes with these wines, and here at 10 years old I'm getting that again. The palate is better, soft in texture, but the flavors are stale. Still tart, but the fruit is dying. Puckering and lean finish, with slightly dead animals and old fruit.
Red
1990 Elio Altare Barolo
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Heavy cream and some spice notes on the nose, but certainly lots of stewed rotting fruit. Also a note of pepperoni. Thick and old fruit on the palate. Really funky, like rotting wet leather covered in old blueberries. More old rotting blueberries on the finish, which leaves the palate softly and slightly tart and puckering.
It's interesting how Silvia kept talking about how the "modernist" movement tried to eliminate the harsh tannins of traditional Barolo, but I find these tannins far more harsh and out of balance than what happens in those traditional Barolos.
Red
2010 Elio Altare Barolo Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Very spicy aromas. Huge sappiness, like popping sap blisters on a deciduous tree. Gritty on palate entry but pretty soft texturally... not much in the way of flavor density, though. Rotting egg flavor on the finish that lingers long. Very puckering and gritty and slightly off balanced and astringent.
Red
2009 Elio Altare Barolo Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Smells like a spiced rubber bouncy ball covered in heavy dark fruit. Very hefty palate entry and tight as a rock in expression with just a bit of tree flavors. Wow is this ever puckering on the finish, showing lots of notes of Indian curry. Weird.
Red
2007 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Soft aromas of tar and slightly bitter hefty dark fruit. Lots of extracted fruit on the palate, notes of oak and chemicals, and overall just feels out of balance. Very puckering and tannic finish without many layers.
Red
1991 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Very funky aromas. Hefty, with notes of rotting plum skins. Lots more funk on the palate, and there's some rich fruit here as well, but definitely overtones of that rotting old fruit. Puckering and tart, bitter finish.
Red
1988 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Hefty, bitter aromas. Smells like a skunk. Intense acidity on the palate, but overall thin and light. Wow, the flavor on the finish takes a turn for the straight nasty and rancid, like a huge pile of rotting moldy fruit at the end. Really bad flavors left in the mouth.
Red
1995 Elio Altare Barolo Brunate
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
That last wine really burned me out on this lineup, so I stopped paying as much attention at this point. This wine was rich and nice, with mild fruit and tartness throughout. Honestly one of the better Barolos in the lineup, but pretty boring.
Red
2006 Elio Altare Barolo Vigna Bricco Cerretta
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
The first Cerretta here was 2005. This offers very rich, heavy aromas. Thick fruit and soft, mellow impression. Tart and earthy palate, with a nice rich hefty fruit complexion. Very rich and soft, smooth finish. Quite mild, actually. Glad to end on a positive note.
Closing
Again, while I may not have loved these wines, I loved the experience of the tasting. Silvia was awesome. While I agree that modern made Barolos can be more approachable in their youth, I think making a wine in this style removed the possibility to produce a wine that evolves into what makes Barolo a great region. It's the beauty and elegance of an aged traditional Barolo that's so gorgeous... and those wines ARE full of beautiful fruit even 40 years on... these wines are just rotten as they get old. No thank you.
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