2006 Larigi

Altare's 2006 crop was cut back sharply by late-August hail and severe selection at harvest time. In fact, there's no Brunate '06, and Altare declassified his Arborina fruit into his classico. Of particular interest here is Altare's new Cerretta Barolo, from a rented vineyard in Serralunga that was replanted eight years ago. I thought the 2005 version, the first vintage for this bottling, was impressive for its combination of power and perfume, but Altare assured me that the 2006 will be even better. (Marc de Grazia; numerous importers, including Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; Robert Houde Wines, Bensenville, IL; and Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael, CA)

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.

Elio Altare had a tough 2006, as many of his vineyards were damaged by hail that year, a risk he had tried to diminish by spreading out the location of his more recently acquired vineyards. While these wines are quite beautiful, they understandably aren't up to his usual level of quality.