1990 Elio Altare Barolo

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 91.7 points

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  7/5/2017 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points

  Showing a bit of age. Cedar, spice, dried currant, sandalwood, perhaps even some red plum too, and it's developing a subtle floral note. Resolved and soft, with red cherry and currant flavors with a meaty tone in the lingering finish.

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  6/27/2015 - thegracchi wrote: 95 Points

  Decanted for 1 hour. Delicious and complex, almost profound, even with pizza.

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  10/3/2014 - Papies wrote: 93 Points

  Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont; 10/3/2014-10/5/2014 (Piedmont, Italy): Decanted and served. 2 consistent bottles here, well matured and seemed very well kept. Well evolved but still with good density of fruit. Round, supple, still rich and vibrant but also a touch linear and lacked a bit more finish. Very good mature Barolo but judging from our table not for everyone. We liked it! 93-94 and drink now

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  6/25/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 82 Points

  An aged tasting of Elio Altare wines with Silvia Altare (E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR): 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.

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  3/2/2014 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points

  Dinner at William's (William & Gina's): Not everyone liked this as much as I did, but I thought it was a very good wine that was just far too young to fully enjoy. It did have a beautiful nose on the night though, smelling of dried roses and flower stalks, dried cranberries and cherry aromas, menthol and spice and a touch of smoky wood, with just a hint of balsamic at the fringes hinting at the wine's age. The palate was really youthful in contrast. This was fresh and super-lively on the attack, with a bloom of fresh dark cherries still held in the grip of vibrant acidity and chewy, teeth-coating tannins. I really liked the quality of the fruit and the lovely balance and poise on this though. True to the house-style, this was a wine shaped to be big and rich and carried some woody oak on it, but it still had a verve and a clarity of expression that made it drinkable in spite of its tough, awkward edges. Pass the midpalate though and this was just really tight, showing little but for little blush of heat and a kiss if warm spice. I liked this, even though the style is not quite up my alley, but it needs a lot of time in the bottle yet. if anything, this puts paid to the accusation that Elio Altare's modern bottlings do not age well. This needs another 6-8 years to my taste, maybe more.

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