2006 Elio Altare Barolo Cerretta Vigna Bricco
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Altare's 2006 Barolo Cerretta shows plenty of Serralunga intensity and brawn. There is good energy to the black cherry, smoke, licorice and spice flavors. Within the context of the vintage the 2006 Cerretta is a relatively approachable wine, with the fruit front and center, and less of the explosiveness that is typical of the year. I also find a bit less excitement than in the best wines Altare has made from this site. The 2006 will continue to drink nicely for the next 10-15 years, perhaps longer, although today I don't see too much potential for improvement.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Current release, because with less age the wine is deemed too austere to please, according to Signor Altare. Mid ruby with orange rim. Spice and dried fruit, and very compact too. Slowly some pretty pure cherry emerges. Compact on the palate too, and lots of minerals. Finely sculpted powdery tannic. Impressive balance, complexity, and very young. (WS)
(a new wine for Altare, from a recently replanted vineyard he rents in Serralunga) Dark red. Lovely floral lift to the flavors of blackberry, violet, tar, licorice and spicecake. At once sweet and serious, with highly concentrated flavors of currant, minerals and camphor. A more muscular style than Altare's Barolos from La Morra (this is Serralunga, after all!) but wonderfully broad and deep. The substantial tooth-furring tannins avoid the dry edge shown by the normale, and the slightly medicinal, austere finish saturates the mouth with subtle perfume of dried fruits, botanical herbs and mint. A terrific and vibrant Serralunga Barolo in need of patience. (Incidentally, a second bottle I tried later on my trip came across as creamier in the middle, with the tannins deeper in the background.)