I got a sneak peek at the Elio Altare 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco, although it is too early to review the wine at this time. It won't hit the market until the fall of 2024. From what we can gather now, we are in for a special prize. This vintage is dark and generously concentrated with black fruit flavors and firm tannins for structural support. The 2019 shows power and a fully loaded style.

Lots of spice with flowers. Bloody and iron undertones. Full and chewy with plenty of structure. Juicy and flavorful. Very structured with lots of tannins. Needs time to soften. Aged for two years in bottle. Muscular and unique. Drink after 2027.

The Elio Altare 2017 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco (to be released in the fall of 2023) is extremely generous and rich, owing to the very hot and dry growing season. The Altare family had the lucky opportunity to buy this parcel in Cerretta (in the village of Serralunga d'Alba) in 2016. (Land prices in the well-known cru sites have since skyrocketed, and I think the record so far was six million euros paid for one hectare). This Riserva opens to rich black fruit, plum and blackcurrant. The fruit is framed by tarry smoke and spice. The wine is very firm and structured to the palate, with an ample, full-bodied style that concludes with a hint of velvety softness.

Here's a wine that, when tasted in context (within this group of releases of mostly 2018s), shows the undisputed star power of the classic 2016 vintage. The Elio Altare 2016 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco sources its fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, and you can expect power, precision and elegance delivered in a threefold punch. This is a wine of depth and complexity with dark fruit, ferrous earth, black truffle and a lifted note of cranberry or candied cherry. On the palate, the wine is driven by the firmness of the tannins, the 15% alcohol and an ample sense of structure. This wine should improve with cellar aging. Some 4,400 bottles will be released in the fall of 2022.

The 2015 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco is a bold and amply fleshed out expression with dried cherry, blackberry preserves, prune and more dried fruit at the back. The wine carries a 15% alcohol content, but in the case of this sunny and hot 2015 vintage, I feel that the fruit is more dried out as a result. With fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, you get a lot of brawn and muscle, with background tones of red brick and iron ore.