"We have won", Elio Altare exclaims. He was one of the first, with Angelo Gaja, to change the nature of making Barolo in the 1980s. He aggressively reduced maceration periods and says that Barolo should be about elegance, not acidity and tannins. Traditionalists have followed, although not as much.
The Brunate vineyard is one of the top three in the Barolo region. It is an amphitheater located just south of La Morra, shared by a number of producers, common here, as is the case in Burgundy. The La Morra subregion has a reputation for producing quite fragrant and beautifully elegant wine.
How would the 2000 Elio Altare Barolo Brunate have held up? To start with the conclusion, it was disappointing. The wine had lost its freshness and vibrancy, not because it is overripe, but the wine clearly lacks acidity. It is still a good wine, with excellent cherry fruit and dry tannins on the finish, but the wine looks tired now. Altare's revolution gone too far?
The other conclusion would be: At seven years of age, this wine was probably stunning.
Score: 91/+
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