The 2021 Barolo Arborina is one of the most elegant wines readers will find from this site, a vineyard where the tannins tend to be a bit piercing in their linearity. Instead, the 2021 is a wine of total harmony. Orange peel, cinnamon, kirsch, new leather and rose petal all build over time. This is such a gorgeous, complete Barolo.

Silvia Altare strikes me as more energized these days than at any time I can recall in the recent past. As for the wines, they are gorgeous from top to bottom. Not much has changed in the way the Barolos are made. The wines see 4-5 days on the skins. Malolactic fermentation is done in tank, and aging is about two years in French oak barrels. The one exception is the Cannubi, which undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrel because of its small volume. Two thousand twenty-one is the first vintage made with some extended maceration, which for Altare means a maximum of 14 days. I admire the consistency of style here. And the wines are flat-out delicious.