2011 Barolo Brunate

Elio Altare fans should take note. The lineup of 2011s will exist only in this vintage. Two thousand eleven marks the last year of Altare's Brunate and the first of Cannubi, so it is the one and only vintage the estate made wines from both sites. In addition, the new Unoperuno is a selection made from hand-destemmed Arborina fruit. I was quite taken with the wines I tasted on my last visit. The 2011 Barolos are quite open, while the 2012 Langhes are solid across the board. Elio Altare is one of the most meticulous keepers of records I know. He and his daughter Sylvia are quick to point out that although 2011 is regarded as a warm, early-ripening year, the actual length of the growing season as measured by the number of days from flowering to ripening is very much within normal parameters. As always, the Altare Barolos are built on fruit and texture. Short macerations and aging in French oak are standard. Still, those are details, because Altare is the only grower I know who consistently makes wines of this level using the concepts of the modern school in Barolo. That suggests there are other factors that drive quality, and I suspect most of them end and start in the vineyard.

Elio Altare keeps one of the most meticulous notebooks of any grower I know. Altare is known as a modernist in the cellar, but in the vineyard he is surprisingly old-school. According to Altare, the number of days from flowering to harvest is the single most important variable that defines the quality and personality of a vintage. Altare observes that in 2007, flowering started on May 8 and the harvest started on September 17. In 2011, flowering was first seen on May 10, while the harvest began on September 20. In both cases, Altare waited for the 130+ days he looks for in Nebbiolo. Altare fans will want to jump all over these 2011s. This is the last vintage of Altare's Brunate but also the first of the Cannubi, and the only vintage in which both of those wines were made. In addition, 2011 marks the first release of the estate's Sgranato a Mano Barolo, a selection from Arborina made from fully destemmed fruit. I have been visiting Altare for about as long as I can remember. This is one of the most impressive vintages I have ever tasted here.