- Nebbiolo from vineyards in Castiglione Falletto, Bricco Ambrogio of Roddi, Saramassa of Barolo, and Cerretta of Serralunga d’Alba
- Maceration on the skins in stainless steel for 4-5 days
- Aged in French oak barriques (100% used) for 24 months
- 833 cases produced annually
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2020
Country:
Italy
Region:
Piedmont
Appellation:
Barolo
Variety:
Nebbiolo
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Practicing Organic
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | IT-ALT-10-20 | 6/750ml |
| Magnum | IT-ALT-10-20M | 3/1500ml |
Press & Reviews
Wine Advocate
Score
93
Date
2024-04-04
"Showing bright fruit freshness and energy, the Elio Altare 2020 Barolo is packed with cherry, wild currant, dried apricot and orange peel. The wine offers volume and texture, more so than your standard Barolo, with soft layers and pretty accessibility. It ages in used barrique for 24 months. There is a hint of butter biscuit too. The tannins are almost resolved, and you don't need to wait long to open one of the 13,000 bottles made."
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2024-01-04
"The 2020 Barolo is a classy, elegant wine, benefitting from the addition of the best lots of Cerretta, which was not bottled in 2020. Muscular, incisive tannins wrap around a core of dark red fruit, cedar, mint, tobacco and spice. Rich and explosive, yet also medium in body, the 2020 is terrific. Vineyard sites are Sarmassa, Pernanno, Bricco Ambrogio and Cerretta. The Altare straight Barolo remains one of the unheralded stars in Piedmont, even after all these years."
Wine Spectator
Score
92
Date
2025-04-30
"Bright and expressive, yet there's depth, too. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, iron, eucalyptus and tar are aligned with a fluid feel and solid structure. Balanced, with a light grip of tannins on the peppery finish. Best from 2027 through 2042. 833 cases made, 280 cases imported."
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2021
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
94
Date
2025-05-06
"The 2021 Barolo is a youthful deep red color and is expressive on the nose with notes of candied cherries, cranberries, pressed roses, dusty earth, and fresh herbs. Unlike the previous wines tasted for this report, it was raised without the use of new oak and entirely in used barrels. Medium-bodied, it's a blend from sites across four communes, including Castiglione Falletto, Sarmassa in Barolo, Bricco Ambrogio in Roddi, and Sorano in Serralunga d'Alba. It has a fantastic and even structure, with a spine of ripe acidity, refined tannins, and salty mineral accents, which bring exceptional energy to the wine. Drink over the next 15 or so years."
2021
Wine Advocate
Score
93
Date
2025-06-19
"The Elio Altare 2021 Barolo offers a classical interpretation of the grape done in the house style that prizes extraction, intensity and sweet fruitiness. You get all of that here, exceptionally well presented in this epic vintage. Fruit is blended from Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, La Morra and Novello, and the wine sees 24 months in used barrique. Production is 11,000 bottles."
2021
Decanter
Score
92
Date
2025-03-28
"Despite being firmly rooted in La Morra, Elio Altare's Barolo brings together fruit from tiny plots in the surrounding villages. In 2021, Pernanno in Castiglione Falletto, Sarmassa in Barolo, Bricco Ambrogio in Roddi, and Sorana in Serralunga make up the component parts for a cohesive and congruent whole. Subtlety scented with red berries, hints of dark chocolate and rosemary, its mid-palate weight lends some girth, while tactile texture comes from the oak frame and fine-grained tannins. A charming pop of dark raspberry floods the finish. Quite an easy-to-drink package but with enough substance and depth for the next seven to eight years."
2021
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2025-01-07
"The 2021 Barolo is a juicy, open-knit wine that will drink well on release but also has the pedigree to age well for a number of years. Crushed flowers, sweet red-toned fruit, new leather, spice and cedar build as this racy, succulent Barolo shows off its considerable charms. This is such a classy wine, one that shows the refined nature of the vintage off beautifully."
2019
Kerin O'Keefe
Score
96
Date
2023-04-18
2019
Wine Advocate
Score
94+
Date
2023-08-24
2019
James Suckling
Score
93
Date
2023-07-28
2019
Vinous
Score
93
Date
2023-01-10
"The 2019 Barolo is bright and effusive in the glass, with lovely aromatic presence and fine balance. Aromatic and broad, with gorgeous balance, the 2019 will be easy to drink and enjoy young. Crushed red berry fruit, blood orange, mint, cinnamon, pomegranate, cedar and sweet floral top notes. This is such a classy Barolo from Altare."
2019
Wine Spectator
Score
91
Date
2024-04-30
"An elegant, focused red, evoking cherry, strawberry, rose hip and earth flavors. Balanced in a linear profile, finishing crisply while echoing red fruit and floral notes. Best from 2025 through 2042. 833 cases made, 250 cases imported."
2019
Jancis Robinson
Score
17+
Date
2023-01-13
"Aged in second- to sixth-year barriques.Still a little closed but already quite beguiling with ripe, red fruit and a touch of minty oak. Complex and hedonistic at the same time. Super-pretty nose and gorgeous, sappy, supple red fruit with lots of crunch and bite on the finish. Has lots of potential. (WS)Drink 2023 † 2032"
2018
James Suckling
Score
94
Date
2022-12-07
2018
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2022-08-11
2018
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2022-02-04
2018
Wine Spectator
Score
90
Date
2023-02-27
2017
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
95
Date
2021-05-30
2017
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2021-06-17
2017
Vinous
Score
93
Date
2021-02-14