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2017 Elio Altare Barolo Arborina

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

June 18, 2023 - $71

Estimate

RATINGS

97Jeb Dunnuck

...bouquet of cassis, espresso, brushed leather, and violets. The palate is full without weight and is inviting with ripe black cherry, cocoa powder, and cedar. The tannins are fine and polished, with an undeniable luxurious quality and refinement.

95Vinous / IWC

...creamy, ample and sensual...flavor profile is a bit darker than usual, but all the elements are so impeccably balanced. A wine of total harmony and class, the 2017 dazzles right from the get go.

94The Wine Advocate

...note of bold cherry and redcurrant that is lifted and pure. That fruit intensity is followed softly by leather, sweet tobacco and crushed flowers. Arborina offers terrific intensity and smoothing textural richness that embraces the concentrated style of the vintage.

93Wine Spectator

A ripe style, though a touch volatile, this red delivers cherry, plum, iron, tar notes and hints of vanilla and toasty oak. Firm and dense, yet balanced, with a long aftertaste of fruit and spice.

REGION

Italy, Piedmont, Barolo

Barolo is one of Italy’s greatest wine appellations. In fact many cognoscenti of Italian wines consider Barolo to be the apex of Italian winemaking. Barolo is sometimes referred to as “the king of wines, and the wine of kings” partly because until the mid-19th century Piedmont was owned by the noble House of Savoy, the historic rulers of northwestern Italy. And the Savoys had a taste for Nebbiolo. Nestled into the rolling hills of Langhe, the Barolo DOCG includes 11 communes, one of which is the town of Barolo. There are 4,200 vineyard acres in the appellation and since the late 19th century growers have tried to identify their best vineyards. By marketing some vineyards as better quality than others, Barolo producers have followed the Burgundian custom of making single vineyard, or “cru” vineyard bottlings. As in neighboring Barbaresco, the Barolo DOCG requires that wines be 100% Nebbiolo, a grape thought of as the Pinot Noir of Italy. Records show that Nebbiolo was grown in the Piedmont as early as the 14th century, and despite being somewhat finicky – it is late to ripen and easily damaged by adverse weather --- Nebbiolo makes highly aromatic and powerful red wines. Until the mid-19th century Nebbiolos of Piedmont were vinified as sweet wines, though that ended in the late 19th century when a French oenologist was invited to Piedmont to show producers how to make dry reds. Barolo was made a DOC in 1966 and upgraded to DOCG status in 1980. Barolos must be aged at least three years, at least two of those years in wood. Barolos are tannic and robust and generally need at least five years to soften into complex, earthy wines.

TYPE

Red Wine, Nebbiolo, D.O.C.G.

This red grape is most often associated with Piedmont, where it becomes DOCG Barolo and Barbaresco, among others. Its name comes from Italian for “fog,” which descends over the region at harvest. The fruit also gains a foggy white veil when mature.