1999 Larigi

Although Elio Altare is best known for the superb Barolos he crafts from the Arborina and Brunate vineyards, his entire range is among the most consistently brilliant in Italy. This truly once in a lifetime retrospective tasting traced the development of Altare's Vigna Larigi, an old-vine Barbera made from a tiny one-hectare plot on the Arborina hillside. For the occasion Altare opened every vintage of Larigi from 1985 to 2006 - with the exception of the 1983 and 1984, which could not be located – a rare event by any measure, most importantly because Altare himself had never tasted so many vintages of the wine in one sitting. All of the bottles came from Altare's personal collection, meaning that provenance was unparalleled. Readers will note that I have refrained from providing drinking windows for that very reason, as it is nearly impossible to replicate the sheer joy and profoundness older, perfectly-stored bottles offer. Still, there is a more important lesson to learn here, and it is that if purchased upon release and stored properly, top vintages of Larigi are capable of providing 20+ years of fine drinking. Needless to say, this tasting provided a unique look at the career of one the world's great vignerons. Altare remains perhaps the most ardent proponent of the modern school of winemaking in Piedmont. He was among the first producers to shorten fermentation times radically, use French oak for his wines and demonstrate that Barbera could yield wines of far greater pedigree than the over-cropped, acidic versions that were the norm when he was starting out. Altare's role in inspiring an entire younger generation of growers to estate-bottle their wines and leave behind the production of grapes and bulk wine can't possibly be overestimated. One of the frequent criticisms hurled at Altare over the years was that his wines wouldn't age. That misguided view has been proven wrong time and again by the splendid maturation of Altare's Barolos from the 1980s, as it was again on this day with a simply superb set of Barberas. As Larigi ages, it takes on a surprising level of complexity in its aromas and flavors, and the 100% new French oak becomes virtually undetectable, especially in the very finest vintages.

Altare was in a contemplative mood when I stopped by on a quiet Monday afternoon, and he spent a good half-hour summing up the last 20 years of progress in the Barolo appellation (eventually I had to remind him that I wanted to taste his wines). "Nebbiolo is more tannic, more astringent, than pinot noir; thus we use shorter macerations," said Altare, in answer to my first question about whether quick extraction of color through the use of rotofermenters compromises the aging potential of Barolo. "What I am sure of, from my own experience, is that the wine is better for at least its first 15 years, maybe 20. You know, wine is an interpretation; you can never satisfy everyone. Why does wine have to be tannic, acid, hard? I like wine that's elegant, perfumed, fruity, balanced. It's a drink of pleasure, period. We don't tell people how to eat; why should we tell them what kinds of wines they should be drinking?"Altare, who lists his major influences as Burgundy, Angelo Gaja and Paul Pontallier, told me he first used a bit of barrique for his Barolo in 1985, then by 1990 arrived at the 80/20 ratio of used and new barrels that he still uses today. He made it clear that he has no rule on the length of the maceration. "We need to adapt the number of days on the skins to the conditions of each year. For example, in 1994 I did only 40 hours of maceration and today I love these wines. In 1998, the wines spent five days on their skins at a very cool 25 to 28 degrees [centigrade], maybe too cool. In '99, the temperature was more like 32 to 35 degrees." (Marc de Grazia; numerous importers, the most important of which are Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; and Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael, CA)