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More wines available from Elio Altare
Pre-Arrival
Elio Altare Barolo Arborina 2019
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$109.93
A broad, solidly built red, with plum and cherry fruit framed by vanilla, caramel, leather and menthol accents....
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$144.71
This was the last Barolo we tasted in Altare's lineup, organized by increasing measure of intensity and power, and...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$128.67
This red offers a mix of plum, black cherry, leather, licorice and spice flavors. Hints of dried fig and chocolate...
More Details
Winery
Elio Altare
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo grapes have been grown for centuries in the hilly region of northern Italy, and have more recently started to appear in many New World countries, too, where modern vintners have expressed great enthusiasm for their fine characteristics. Their fame and popularity is widely known, and the Nebbiolo varietal is recognized as the grape responsible for producing the legendary fine wines of Italy. Indeed, this grape is packed full of intense and interesting flavors, ranging from truffle and prune, to tobacco and violets, making the wines they produce a sensory delight which simply get better the longer they are aged. The grapes also lend a beautifully pale red color to their wines, which helped secure their place as some of the finest and most elegant to be found anywhere on earth.
Region: Piedmont
For hundreds of years, the beautiful alpine region of Piedmont in north-west Italy has been producing excellent quality red wines, and some of the most characterful sparkling white wines to have ever come out of the Old World. The region is dominated by the mighty Alps which form the border between Italy, France and Switzerland, and the Moscato grapes that are grown in the foothills of this mountain range carry much of the Alps' flavors in their fruit, and are fed by crystal clear mountain waters. However, it is the Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera grapes which are the real stars of this region, and the highly respected wineries which cover much of Piedmont have generations of experience when it comes to processing and aging these grape varietals to produce the superb wines which come out of appellations such as Barolo and Barberesco.
Country: Italy
Italy is recognised as being one of the finest wine producing countries in the world, and it isn't difficult to see why. With a vast amount of land across the country used primarily for vineyard cultivation and wine production, each region of Italy manages to produce a wide range of excellent quality wines, each representative of the region it is produced in. Any lover of Italian wines will be able to tell you of the variety the country produces, from the deliciously astringent and alpine-fresh wines of the northern borders, to the deliciously jammy and fruit-forward wines of the south and the Italian islands. Regions such as Barolo are frequently compared with Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, as their oak aged red wines have all the complexity and earthy, spicy excellence of some of the finest wines in the world, and the sparkling wines of Asti and elsewhere in Italy can easily challenge and often exceed the high standards put forward by Champagne. Thanks to excellent terrain and climatic conditions, Italy has long since proven itself a major player in the world of wines, and long may this dedication to quality and excellence continue.