1994 Vigna Larigi

I have long believed the level of a producer can only be truly understood by looking at the small vintages, and this next set of wines is truly surprising. To be sure, none of the wines of the early 1990s is extraordinary, but they reveal so much about what it means to be a top-level grower. The 1994 is a delicate, slender Larigi. The wine shows good freshness but modest size and complexity, with green, herbal notes that tend to dominate its flavor profile. 1994 was the first vintage Altare employed rotary fermenters, but it would take a few years before the new technology was felt in the wines. Incidentally, a bottle of the 1994 Langhe Arborina that Altare opened after this tasting was impeccable; fresh, harmonious and delicious. That wine saw an unheard of 40 hours of maceration on the skins and was aged in 100% new oak. Guess what? It was in perfect shape.