2011 La Villa

Elio Altare's 2010 Barolos have always been spectacular from barrel, so it is hardly a surprise to see them showing so brilliantly from bottle. Altare continues to experiment with fully-destemmed Nebbiolo, a radical and meticulous approach to sorting I first wrote about a few years ago. The first 100% destemmed (sgranato a mano) Barolo is the 2010, which may not be commercially released. There is a big step up in quality in 2011, as the fruit was picked within a tighter window and therefore the fermentation was shorter and more controlled than in 2010. Needless, to say, it will be interesting to see where things go with this Barolo over the next few years. The 2011 Langhes are gorgeous, and display the early seductiveness of that year in spades. Vintage 2011 will be the last Brunate from Altare, as he lost access to the fruit, but it is the first for the estate's new Cannubi Barolo. There is plenty to look forward at Altare, a small, family-run estate that remains a benchmark for fine, hand-made, artisan Piedmont wines.