Altare Dinner with Silvia Altare

Tasting of Elio Altare Barolo 1971 to 2004 at Enomania in Copenhagen

With Silvia Altare as Special Guest

Altare in plural...

Last Friday at my favorite restaurant in Copenhagen, Enomania, I had invited my best friends to at very special tasting. The theme of the tasting was a vertical of the famous Barolo Arborina from Elio Altare. However, as you can see from this description the Barolo Arborina was not the only wine we had – no there were a few vintages of Langhe Arborina and Barolo Brunate as well as a few other wines. Naturally all of them were made by Altare.

To make things even more special, Silvia Altare joined us for the tasting. My friends had not been told and it was a lot of fun to watch their faces when Silvia entered the restaurant. We were all extremely happy that Silvia showed us the honor of joining us for this very special event. Thank you Silvia it was really a treat to have you with us.

Prior to the tasting Silvia had together with her father Elio prepared brief fact sheets on all wines and these were given to all people at the tasting. It was very interesting and valuable for us to have this “inside information”.

Well, before being served the first dish of the evening, we had a glass of white wine served blind. It was served relatively chilled, maybe a couple of degrees too cold for my preference. In the beginning it was completely muted on the nose, but after heating up a little in the glass it gave a little citrus notes, but only a little. In the mouth it again displayed some citrus notes combined with a whipping acidity, which made it appear very fresh and youthful. I also found some saltiness in the wine. The wine was of course made by Elio Altare and it was a Cinqueterre Campogrande Altare Bonanni: Cinque Terre DOC 2009 – only the second vintage of this wine. It was the first time I tasted this wine and according to Silvia it didn’t show as it normally does at the winery. Anyway it was fun to try this new project from Elio and although it was relatively muted, I liked the freshness of the wine very much.

Shortly after, we were served the first course of the evening. Being a night of otherwise Piemontese wines, my friend Damiano, who owns Enomania, had prepared a completely Piemontese menu. So what better way to start with than a dish with Vitello Tonnato and Carne Cruda. Both were delicious, but I particularly enjoyed the carne cruda – it had been prepared with a bit of Marolo Grappa di Gewürtztraminer and then covered with white truffles from Alba. It was a divine combination.

In general all wines had been given slow-o treatment for between 5 and 8 hours. Immediately before being served they were decanted to separate any seditments and then poured gently back into the bottle. All wines were kept in the cellar and were served at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. To me the serving temperature was perfect – especially given the fact that it was relatively warm in the restaurant. Also it is worth noting that almost all wines had been brought to the restaurant one week prior to the tasting in order to let them stand up and rest before being served.

For this course we were served four wines – all wines were served non-blind. It was youthful, yet marvelous set of wines. In the first glass we had Barolo Arborina 2004 and in the next glass we had Barolo Brunate 2004. In the next two glasses we had Barolo Arborina 2001 and Barolo Brunate 2001.

The 2004s were made in a “in-your-face” style - very ripe fruit, very sensual and very open for business. The Arborina had some sweetness in the fruit that I didn’t find in the Brunate. The Brunate on the other had had more menthol in the nose. According to Silvia both wines received the exact same treatment in the cellar, and for this vintage something very extraordinary happened: the wines were never racked during the 24 months they spend in oak – as put by Silvia: “They were born perfect”. Both wines were so beautiful and elegant and with a silkiness that I can’t describe. Tannins were so silky and smooth and the wines were in beautiful harmony – perfectly balanced. I re-tasted these two wines both 2 and 3 days after the tasting and they kept their freshness. With time, the Barolo Arborina developed a slightly more tannic grip than the Brunate, which on the other hand preserved more freshness in the fruit.

The 2001s were not so “in-your-face” as the 2004s. Upon being served, they were more hard and closed – although the 2001 Brunate quickly showed a more opulent fruity nose – a nose which was to die for - unbelievably beautiful. However, they both needed some more time in the glass to shine, yet when they came around they were stunning. Again I found a note of menthol in the nose of the Brunate that I didn’t find in the Arborina. The 2001s had a completely different tannic profile than the 2004s. The 01s were much more firm and structured and the tannins were coating my teeth and actually my entire mouth. I found the 01s to be slightly more precise in the taste and I felt more acidity than in the 04s. Also the 2001s didn’t have the same ripeness of the fruit as the 2004s had. Again I loved the overall balance of the wines – so beautiful. When I retasted the wines on day 2 and 3 after the tasting, the wines showed beautifully, with the Brunate having a slight edge over the Arborina. The fruit of the 01 was fresher and it seemed to be a slightly more structured wine.

This was really a beautiful set of wines and I couldn’t think of a better way to start the tasting. It is difficult to say which was the better wine, but I did prefer the 2001s to the 2004s. No doubt the 2004s were made in more “friendly” and hedonistic style”, but I personally loved the more firm tannic structure of the 2001s. Anyway it is really splitting hairs. Generally though, I found the Barolo Brunate to be a bit more complex than the Barolo Arborina.

Next course served was Damiano’s trademark: risotto. His risotto has become “world-famous” in Denmark and that of course for a reason. On this night he had made the risotto with Jerusalem artichoke and different cuts from pheasant. On top he had generously shaved white truffle from Alba. Again it was a gorgeous combination.

This amazing risotto was accompanied by four glasses of wine. In the first two glasses we had 2000 Barolo Arborina and 1999 Barolo Arborina respectively. In my opinion the 2000 was slightly overmatched by the 1999. The 2000 had some sweetness to the fruit. I found dark sweet cherries and after some time it felt like the 2000 started to fade a little. It didn’t have the freshness of the 1999 Barolo Arborina. The 1999 was much more structured with firm tannins and it didn’t have any of this sweetness to the fruit that I found in the 2000. The 1999 also displayed menthol and minerality that I didn’t find to the same extend in the 2000. However, in the beginning the 1999 was also much more reserved in the glass.

In glass three and four we were served two wines blind. The wine in glass number three was brought by my friend Stefan Töpler from Germany. He brought it with him on the flight the same day, so it was only given 3 hours of slow-o before being served. However, when judged solely on the nose, it clearly stole the show. It appeared much more primary and it had a much fresher fruit. It had the structural similarities of the 1999 Barolo Arborina and my friend Martin quickly nailed the wine as being 1999 Langhe Arborina. Correct he was. In the mouth the wine also displayed slightly more freshness in the fruit, but one thing I found disturbing about this wine was its dry finish. Also I found that the tannins were not just from the wine, but also some oaky tannins. It was a shame with this dryness as all other things about this wine were superb. In the fourth glass was a “pirate” from Silvia. It was very different from the other three wines. The nose was very peculiar with a very lactic scent – I had a lot of yoghurt and buttermilk. Underneath this odd nose there was a beautiful wine an unbelievable freshness to the fruit. It didn’t have the structure of the other three wines, but I really enjoyed its fresh fruit. Due to the strange nose of the wine it was difficult to blind guess it, and Silvia had to tell us that it was a Dolcetto 1999. It had never seen wood, only stainless steel. When retasted the following days, surprisingly the 2000 Barolo Arborina had regained some of the freshness that it seemed to lack on the evening of the tasting. It suddenly displayed intense layers of dark sweet fruit but it still lacked a bit of structure when compared to the 1999 Barolo Arborina. The 1999 Barolo showed excellent and seemed uninfluenced by the time it had been open - it is definitely a wine that will have a long life. The 1999 Langhe Arborina kept the fresh fruit, but unfortunately it also kept the dry finish. Surprisingly – at least to me – the Dolcetto kept the very fresh fruit, but it unfortunately didn’t lose the peculiar scent of yoghurt and buttermilk.

This flight was very interesting to me. It showed very different styles between the two vintages, but it also showed two different expressions of nebbiolo on the 1999s. According to Silvia there is no selection of grapes for Barolo Arborina and Langhe Arborina – only difference is in the cellar, where the Langhe receives 100% new barrique and the Barolo receives only 20-30% new barrique. Naturally there is also a difference in the aging time, as the Langhe only sees oak for 18 months whereas the Barolo ages 24 months in oak. But somehow the Langhe had preserved a more fresh fruit but in order to do so it had sacrificed some of the elegance and balance.

Next flight consisted of only three wines: Barolo Arborina 1996, Barolo Brunate 1996 and a wine donated by Silvia. The wine donated by Silvia was served blind. To accompany these fabulous wines Damiano served a stunning pasta dish. The pasta was served with rabbit and chanterelles and on top he had again generously shaved white truffles from Alba. A marvelous combination with the wines!



Hedonism in a bottle



As we all know, 1996 is one of the all-time greatest vintages for Barolo. Silvia described the vintage as a “fresh” year with warm temperatures and light rain at the same time. The grapes were harvested very late on the 10^th of October – fortunately the light rain and the nice temperature helped preserve both freshness and acidity in the wines. The 1996 Brunate was only the second vintage from this great vineyard. Upon serving, the Barolo Arborina had some brown and more mature notes in the nose, but they quickly disappeared. The Brunate on the other hand came flying right out of the gate – it was super fresh. In the mouth the wines were hedonistic – simply a stunning set of wines. They both posses an incredible structure, loads of dark red fruit and a whipping acidity which helps preserve the incredible balance and elegance of the wines. However, I have to say that on the evening of the tasting, the Brunate seemed to have the upper hand on the Arborina – it seemed to have an extra gear. It appeared more complex with a more defined structure and more precise in the taste. The Arborina on the other hand appeared slightly more elegant than the Brunate. The Brunate was also beautiful and elegant, but underneath there was a ton of raw muscle and power. I kind of got the impression that the Brunate had so much to offer that it had to control itself in order for it to remain in balance. It was like a gymnast at the Olympics – they are so full of muscle that they have to control themselves in order to also get a high score for their artistic impression – i.e. to remain elegant. It was an incredible set of wines. When re-tasted over the following three days, the Brunate still had the edge over the Arborina, but the difference became smaller and smaller every day, and actually the Arborina became more and more tannic. Two days after the tasting I let one of my friends taste the 96 Arborina and he was so impressed. He couldn’t believe that it had been open 55 hours (of course with a cork in it for most of the time).





Silvia, Damiano and myself



The wine served in glass number three was a gift from Silvia. It had a much lighter expression than the 96s. The color was not as dark red as with the 96s. In the mouth it displayed light cherries and an incredibly fresh fruit, but not nearly as dark fruit as the 96s showed. It was not a tannic monster, but showed silky round tannins. It was in perfect balance and to me it was a very feminine, elegant and slightly fragile expression of nebbiolo, which I really enjoyed. Actually this finesse made me think of the elegance of wines from Chambolle Musigny. I knew what wine it was and had it been served blind to me, I would never have guessed the vintage. We let my friends try and guess, and the two guesses were 97 Barolo Brunate and 98 Barolo Brunate. These two guesses are just an indication of how good this wine was. Everyone was quite surprised when they were told that it was 1994 Barolo Arborina. I have never tried this wine before and it was easily the best 1994 Barolo I have ever tried. Generally 1994 is considered an off-vintage, but Silvia told us that it happens to be one of Elio’s favorite vintages. This wine had been macerated 40 hours on the skins and it was the first time the rotary fermenters were used. Thanks a lot to Silvia for giving us the chance to taste this elegant wine. I re-tasted the wine two and three days after the tasting and it remained fresh and elegant.



The Chambolle of La Morra



As an intermezzo before the next flight, Martin served us a bottle Champagne, 2004 Agrapart & Fils Extra brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Venus. It was very intense with an explosive flavor profile. It had citrus notes and a lot of minerality. It was an incredible bottle and I really enjoyed it. Thank you Martin.

Next up was the flight that I had looked the most forward to serving. It was really the flight of giants. We were served four glasses with 1990 Barolo Arborina, 1990 Vigna Arborina, 1989 Barolo Arborina and 1989 Vigna Arborina. To accompany these wines we were served Danish red deer with polenta and spinach - a lovely combination.

Upon serving, the 90 Barolo appeared fresher than the 89 Barolo – well actually the 89 Barolo was not giving much. But the most interesting observation was the freshness of both of the Vigna Arborinas. They both seemed 5 years younger than the Barolos – on the nose alone.

Silvia told us that 1989 was a great vintage, warm and powerful and with a smaller production than 1990. It was also the first vintage where Elio used only French barriques. The Barolo Arborina 1989 had been aged in 25% new barrquie, whereas the Vigna Arborina had received 100% new oak. 1990 was also a great vintage – very hot and with healthy grapes. Due to the hot weather there was a very early ripening and consequently the harvest had been early. In order to get more acidity and freshness from this warm year, Elio decided to pick the grapes two times, first on the 23^rd of September and secondly on the 30^th of September. The wines had been macerated four and a half days on the skins and then straight into barriques. The Vigna Arborina had seen 100% new oak.

When observing the four wines in the glasses the 90s appeared darker in color and in the nose they were also slightly more perfumed. I have tried both Barolos at other tastings and I have always loved the 1990 Barolo Arborina. In general I have a vintage preference for 89 over 90, but for Altare it has always been the opposite for me. Initially this was no exception. The 1990 Barolo Arborina was a beauty – it was in PERFECT balance – silky and velvety and for me it was at peak. It had dark and sweet cherries, some menthol and a very good acidity, but still with smooth and silky tannins. I absolutely loved this wine. When tasted both 1, 2 and 3 days after the tasting, this wine was still in perfect balance and it was so beautiful. It reminded me somewhat of the 1985, but just with a bit more of everything. The 1989 Barolo Arborina had a completely different start, it was more dull and mature in the nose, but with air it really came alive. It was a more fresh expression of nebbiolo – much more aggressive tannins and with much more acidity present. But it still managed to keep a perfect balance between the red fruit, the tannins and the acidity. To me this wine was also much more youthful and when re-tasted over the following days, it almost got better and better. At least the day after it was much better. These two wines tested my Altare preference for 90 over 89. The 1990 Barolo Arborina was perfect now, whereas I got the impression that the 89 Barolo Arborina still didn’t show its full potential – which is incredible to say about a wine which is more than 20 years old.

Well, returning to the Vigna Arborinas, the story was in a way similar. The 89 was very fresh and youthful and although the 90 was also fresh, it had a more sweet and dark expression. Actually judged on the nose alone, probably the 89 Vigna Arborina was the best of the entire flight. However, in the mouth I didn’t find the same balance in the wines as I did with the Barolos. Although they appeared younger and fresher in the fruit, it seemed that this freshness had come at a high price, they had sacrificed part of their balance. Also they had dryness in the aftertaste that I didn’t find in the Barolos and it through me off a bit on these two wines. I found that in particular the 89 Vigna Arborina was showing off a bit too much – a bit like a person on steroids who looks perfectly fit and who can lift really heavy weights in the gym, but in reality he cannot use the muscles for anything than showing off in the gym and on the beach. So to me – although these two wines were impressive on the first impression they gave – they didn’t have the backbone and the balance of their two Barolo brothers. When I re-tasted these two wines I had the same impression and I still found the dryness at the end, which I didn’t like that much.

Anyway this flight was really spectacular and it was indeed a hedonistic flight. I hope that I one day get the chance to taste these wines side by side again. As a side comment I can tell that during this flight Silvia called her father and I had the privilege to talk to him. I have met Elio a couple of times before and I have always seen him as a very humble yet very passionate person. During our brief talk he talked passionately about the wines and he humbly thanked me for organizing this tasting. It was a great honor for me to talk to this living legend.

The next flight also consisted of four different wines and it was a mix of three different vintages. First up were 1988 Barolo Arborina, 1988 Vigna Arborina and then came 1986 Barolo Arborina and 1985 Barolo Arborina. The wines were served along a small selection of nice cheeses.



1988 Barolo Arborina - the last to see botti



According to Silvia 1988 was considered a good vintage. She also told us that the 1988 Barolo Arborina was the last to be aged both in her grandfather’s botti and in barrique. Also this was the first “crazy harvest” where Elio chose to macerate only four days on the skins. The 1988 Vigna Arborina was aged in 100% new barrique. Unfortunately the 1988 Barolo Arborina was not showing well. There was fault on the nose, which was a shame because underneath there was still a fresh wine. We had a back-up of this wine, but unfortunately the back-up had exactly the same fault, just a little worse. The 1988 Vigna Arborina was on the other hand shining. To me it was the best of the Vigna Arborinas. It was still showing a very fresh fruit combined with a quite distinct acidity. Tannins were relatively round and smooth, and on this wine, I didn’t find the dryness I had found in the other Vigna/Langhe Arborinas. It was not a hugely structured wine, nonetheless it was a very well balanced wine, and it showed very well the following two evenings – in fact it was very beautiful on Sunday evening (two days after the tasting). Very impressive!

Next up was 1986 Barolo Arborina. According to Silvia (and Elio) 1986 was an extremely good year, but it was affected by a big hail storm in May. This hail storm affected the quantity of grapes, but it did not affect the quality of the remaining grapes. In 1986 Elio, was still experimenting with barrique and the Barolo Arborina was aged half in his father’s botti and half in barrique. It was macerated 6 days on the skins. To me the wine showed really well. It had dark cherries in the nose along with a distinct scent of menthol. In the mouth it displayed licorice, dark sweet fruit and menthol, the tannins were very firm and it was a quite powerful wine. Again I was impressed by the balance of the wine. It was my first time tasting this vintage from Elio Altare and I was very impressed. A true treat to try all these older gems.

On the night of the tasting, the 1985 Barolo Arborina unfortunately didn’t really show that well. In fact we kind of agreed that the wine was not perfectly stored and that it was a bit over the hill. So when I shared the leftovers with Stefan the following day, we were both very surprised to find an absolutely beautiful wine in the bottle. It was a bit like the fairy tale of the ugly duckling. Overnight it had transformed itself into a beautifully and superbly balanced wine. On the evening Silvia gave us some insights on the making of the wine, it was the last Barolo Arborina to be aged 100% in her grandfather’s old 30 – 40 hl botti. Furthemore, the wine had been macerated 12 days on the skins which is a lot longer than the subsequent vintages. She also told us that 1985 – along with 1982 and 1989 –was one of the best vintages of the 80’s. To me this wine was an “underplayed” version of the 1990 Barolo Arborina. It was not nearly as powerful as the 90, but it had some of the same silkiness and velvet touch it, and I truly adored its balance and harmony. Tannins were soft and sweet and it almost felt as if the wine was caressing my mouth - so sexy and elegant. It was definitely a fully mature wine but it still had a wonderful sweet and slightly warm fruit that I enjoyed. What a magical transformation this wine went through.





Silvia & Massimo

  

Before Damiano served us the dessert, we were served a final wine. It was also a donation from our guest of honor, Silvia. The wine was served blind and we quickly found out that we had jumped a bit back in time from the 1985. In the glass it was orange red with a slightly “milky” look. In the nose it was so complex with sweet fruit, menthol, rust and blood. In the mouth it had a relatively strong acidity but tannins were certainly still present. It was a real beauty – fully mature and a real treat to drink. We couldn’t guess which wine it was, but Silvia revealed to us that it was a wine made by her grandfather Giovanni. It was a 1971 Barolo Riserva Speciale. On the label it was engraved “Barolo Riserva Speciale per Carol Marie Antoinette”. What a fantastic way to end this incredible evening. I re-tasted it the following day with Stefan. It had lost some of its fruit, but it was still holding up nicely. Tannins were still present and it was still quite acidic. An absolute over achievement compared to what Silvia had expected. As she wasn’t sure about the storage of the wines of her grandfather, she didn’t have high hopes, but luckily she was wrong.



Notice the strange insription



This concluded the most special tasting I have ever been at. It was so special to be able to enjoy all these wines with my best friends and on top of that to have the pleasure of having Silvia and her boyfriend Massimo with us. Damiano did a spectacular job in the kitchen as well as with the wines. But most importantly Elio and Silvia had done an amazing job with the wines. Generally speaking, I found the Barolo Brunate to be slightly more complex than the Barolo Arborina, but both wines had this amazing balance and elegance, which to me is the trademark of the wines from Altare. The Vigna Arborinas didn’t posses this same balance and elegance, and they didn’t have the same structure as the Barolos, however they had on the other hand managed to preserve more freshness of the fruit. In general I was so impressed with all of the wines and I feel so privileged to have tried all these legendary monuments from Langhe.



Myself & Silvia