Elio Altare, Langhe, Villa

I love this. Fresh, tasty, and instantly transported me back to the Piedmont.

2014 vintage

Nose: beautiful nose with dark berries and sour cherries, graphite and wet tobacco, some mint in the background Palate: earthy red fruits and cherry mixed with espresso notes, dark chocolate and fine wood flavors are accompanied by fine-grained, very ripe tannins and a matching acidity; fruit, tannins and acidity are in an excellent balance; a wine with a high complexity and a long finish The wine will remain at this level for a few more years

2011 vintage

Traditional flavors and tannin? But lush and fuller body of the new progressive winemakers in the region. Great wine and would not guess this was 10 years in. Beautiful aromas, and has a long life ahead of it.

2011 vintage

This is a great wine but requires a lot of air. Should be decanted. I drank this bottle over three nights under just a vacuum. Was best on the 2nd night.

2010 vintage

Studying Northern Italy for WSET3, so may as well sip on some Nebbiolo while I’m at it. In the spirit of preparing for the exam, I’ll go through the grid this time. Appearance is clear, garnet in color, with medium intensity. Nose is clean, med+ intensity, developing, with nice complexity exhibiting primary, secondary and tertiary notes. The palate is dry with med+ acidity, med+ tannins that are fine grained and grippy, high alcohol, medium body, with med+ intensity. Flavors and …

1990 vintage

Perfect right now

2010 vintage

well integrated vanilla notes from oak use set off bright red fruits with a nebbiolo spine. full mouth feel and nice finish

2011 vintage

Drunk well out of the gate, even better hours later. Beguiling nose of sweet and sour cherry, currant, strawberry and a whiff of mint. Broad earthy red fruits in the mouth are buttressed by silky but not subtle tannin and tangy brown gravy; not so much complexity in the mid-palate. The tang persists into a juicy if narrow medium+ finish. A well crafted well of substance, not quite majesty. Still very very good and possibly better 2020-2025 if the back …

2011 vintage

Wow. Tasted it one month ago at an Elio Altare porfolio tasting and bought a bottle. Barbera-nebbiolo blending at its best. Consumed over 2 days. 2nd day was much more open and revealing. Fruit bomb on the nose- red and dark fruits, strawberries and cherries. Also some rose aromas as well as leather and mild hints of tobacco. Great balance between the fruit and acidity, minerality, medium tannins and very nice structure. Ready to enjoy now! A little bit on …

2011 vintage

The blend which her grandfather was already making. Fresh, powerful, just opened, needs some time to open up. 18 months new oak. A skinner vintage so the oak fills it out a little bit more. And I don't really taste the new oak. The Barolo I guess is not new oak - its oak from these guys.

2014 vintage

Popped and slow ox'd for 2 hours. Medium ruby color. Nose of bright red berry fruits, baking spices, cinnamon, some floral notes and a hint of cedar. On the palate, the fruit was more juicy and fresh than ripe and the medium+ to high acid furthered that sensation. Not a lot of tannin and drank slightly lighter than expected but worked out well. The barbera definitely shows itself in this wine. Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit but QPR …

2010 vintage

The Altare La Villa can currently be defined by its depth and textures more than anything else, and it is just a baby today. The nose was rich with a mix of both high-toned red and black fruit, with grilled herbs, spice, leather, dusty soil tones and crushed stone. On the palate it showed dense, dark textures contrasted by brisk acidity with brilliant red and black fruits, spice and grippy tannins. Not a hint of oak is present here. It's …

2011 vintage

Silky, sappy, lush, tight & fresh. Killer fruit/intensity/complexity on nose. Aromatic, big, elegant, long. Crushed rose-petal, silky, fresh, wild-cherry, sumac, choke-cherry, exotic red-fruit, violet & touch of mint/menthol. Great acidity & balance. Sensual, elegant & massive, gripping, serious & impressive. Explosive power & sappy intensity. Complex, wild-berry intense fruit follows all the way through finish/aftertaste. Brilliant Barbera/Nebbiolo blend (60%Barbera/40%Nebbiolo)

2011 vintage

Barbera-ish Battle; 11/20/2015-11/22/2015 : WOTN for me. this has it all. Chocolate covered cherry, ripe sexy fruit, with time - roses and mint on the nose. mid is more nebbi - with leather and rustic tannincs playing well with the polished notes of sweet ripe fruit. great acidity keeping it fresh into a long finish with herbs and spices... sooo good now... but likely even more amazing with time.

2011 vintage

Deep color, with a lot of fruit and excellent balance. Very young at this stage, should reward 5-7 years in the cellar...price, $99, seems high though.

2011 vintage

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

2010 vintage

Full-bodied but smooth with lots of silky tannins, elegant oak and slightly neutral cherry fruit. Easy-drinking style, I would prefer a bit more structure and grip. Approachable now. - 89 points

2010 vintage

Drank one of two bottles that I own, and am kicking myself for not holding onto this one a little longer. It is surprisingly youthful both in the color and the nose. It has lovely cherry/bramble and licorice aromas, with some spicy clove notes. And the tannins, while present, are softening very nicely.

1997 vintage

Consumed at Felicin in Monforte d'Alba. We asked Nino to pull something mature and reasonably priced... Typical nebb garnet. Still youthful looking. Upon opening the nose was pure nebbiolo, lovely floral and tar mixture. The taste was also very promising and reminiscent of a good Barolo. Unfortunately, this evolved in the glass the opposite of how I expected/desired. The barbera and oak came to the front and stayed there while the nebbiolo played the background role. A nice wine, but …

1997 vintage

Rather rustic this was dark and full in flavors. Hard to evaluate this evening as it was drank SbS with some very refined mature Nebiollo. There is a nice earthy component that was evident and the wine improved with a few hrs decant. Pair with big food.

1997 vintage

Great red colour - deep ruby with a brownish tone and only a hint of a watery edge - I never would have guessed this to be a '90. The nose is delivering dark cherries, raspberries, cinnamon, vanilla and boysenberries in a seamless and extremly elegant style. On the palate a lot of fresh fruit and a fine grip. More bitter cherries and boysenberries. The oak is not evident at all but very well-integrated. To me - no nebbiolo characteristics …

1990 vintage

Perhaps I am being a bit conservative. Much longer lived than Elio's detractors would give it or than RP himself. The Color was a darker red than you'd expect from a pure nebbiolo. Otherwise, you could have fooled me that this was a Barolo. Very rich, well structured, clean (no barrique evident, none of the burgundian edge you get from other Altares). All of the classic floral elements, some anise starting to appear in the end of the finish. Rich …

1990 vintage

Drukket på La Felicin. Flot moden frugt med meget aromatiske overtoner. Døde muligvis sidst på aftenen.

1990 vintage

This wine is pure velvet on the taste which filled with rich earthy black fruit. It is ready to drink but will develop over the next three years.

1997 vintage

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Elio Altare, Langhe, Villa

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