Barolo Unoperuno, Elio Altare 2013

The result of extreme hand de-stemming, the 2013 Barolo Unoperuno is assembled berry-by-berry. Fruit comes from the estate's celebrated Arborina vineyard. This wine was not produced in 2014 (because yields were so low). Starting in 2015, it will also include fruit blended in from Cannubi, Cerretta and other sites. This edition shows a wonderful sense of precision and focus with subtle mineral intensity at the back of dried fruit, tobacco, moist earth and toasted hazelnut. Only 1,500 bottles are made. The labor required to make this wine is intense. It takes a full week to complete the hand de-stemming process in which each berry is picked off individually ("uno per uno"). The must undergoes a ten-day maceration period. To innovator Elio Altare, this is his interpretation of a "traditional" Barolo.