Elio Altare

Giuseppe Altare, Elio’s grandfather, left Dogliani for La Morra after World War II, in 1948.

La Morra is one of the 11 villages that make up the Barolo wine region. The family’s 5 ha of vineyards have now grown to 10 ha where nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto are planted.

Elio Altare has been making wine since the late 1970s, when he took over the company. After an apprenticeship in Burgundy, he knew for certain that everything had to be changed. The wine his father had made until then was harsh and tannic. Elio wanted to change that, and being a driven and stubborn man, he set to work.

With a chainsaw he demolished all the old vats, the chicken coop and the fruit trees around the house. Followed by the vineyards. All the bad vines were cut and the rest of the vines were pruned to only a few bunches of grapes to grow per plant. He aimed for quality, not quantity. He wanted fresh and drinkable wines; a delicate balance. Elio experimented in his search for the best possible result, without compromise.

Since his stunt with the chainsaw, Elio and his father never spoke another word to one another; when his father died in 1985, Elio was disinherited. Bit by bit, he bought land from his siblings until he had everything back and could continue his work.

Silvia Altare, who shares her smile with her father Elio, took over the business in 2018. Being a woman and daughter, she had to prove herself in a man’s world. It took her 20 years to be finally acknowledged.

The current 10 ha of vineyards are spread across Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba.

The Altare family works organically, even though they are not certified. “Sometimes minimal intervention based on common sense is needed”, says Altare. They manage to make the wines as simple and natural as possible, working with minimal use of sulphite and without any chemicals or pesticides.

Altare’s wines are concentrated, deeply flavoured and at the same time ethereal and elegant. The deep flavours of ripe nebbiolo, complexity and length combined with soft, well integrated tannins make Altare’s Barolos some of the most sought-after and desired wines in the world. Both the Barolo Classico and the wines from the Cru vineyards have great storage potential of easily 20 years.