Wine Country: Italy

Wine Subregion: Piemonte

Wine Sub-subregion: Barolo

Wine Varietal: Barolo DOCG

Silvia Altare is truly hitting her stride.  Now firmly and confidently in control of one of the most seminal properties in all of Barolo, her 2020s are poster children for this wonderful vintage in Barolo!  The Barolo Classico, a 10,000 bottle production coming from Altare vines in La Morra, Roddi, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and Barolo, is the winery’s calling card.  Class in the glass!  And what to do with my 12-bottle allocation of Elio Altare Barolo Arborina 2020?  It’s a dark, brooding wine that Silvia calls the best she’s made since taking over this Annunziata property.  The vines are contiguous to Tiziana Settimo’s parcel of Rocche dell’Annuziata, but across the street and sloping up to Altare’s patio.  Open a bottle of the Barolo now- just to see- but keep your Arborina in a dark, cool place and let it come together a year or so before investigating further. 

Wine Advocate on the Barolo: Showing bright fruit freshness and energy, the Elio Altare 2020 Barolo is packed with cherry, wild currant, dried apricot and orange peel. The wine offers volume and texture, more so than your standard Barolo, with soft layers and pretty accessibility. It ages in used barrique for 24 months. There is a hint of butter biscuit too. The tannins are almost resolved, and you don't need to wait long to open one of the 13,000 bottles made. 93 points

And on the Arborina: The Elio Altare 2020 Barolo Arborina makes a bright first impression with lots of cherry fruit, cranberry and tart berry nuances. It offers underripe flavors that are much appreciated in a hot vintage such as this. A touch of mineral adds sharpness in the form of wet stone or petrichor. The Arborina showcases classic Nebbiolo flavors, with good volume, velvety tannins and apparent freshness. Only 5,200 bottles were created. 94 points

Vinous on the Barolo: The 2020 Barolo is a classy, elegant wine benefitting from the addition of the best lots of Cerretta, which was not bottled in 2020. Muscular, incisive tannins wrap around a core of dark red fruit, cedar, mint, tobacco and spice. Rich and explosive, yet also medium in body, the 2020 is terrific. Vineyard sites are Sarmassa, Pernanno, Bricco Ambrogio and Cerretta. The Altare straight Barolo remains one of the unheralded stars in Piedmont, even after all these years. 93 points

And on the Arborina: The 2020 Barolo Arborina is a bright, focused wine that shows all the energy that is typical of this La Morra site, especially in its driving tannic profile. Dark cherry, spice, leather, menthol and dried flowers all come alive in the glass. Floral and savory notes add aromatic presence and breadth on the finish. I would give this a few years to soften. 95 points