Piedmont
9 wines 
Tastings
Walk-ins welcome 
Wine area
Langhe
The hill country south of Alba that grows Barolo, Barbaresco and the everyday Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Barbera bottlings sold under the Langhe DOC umbrella.
Azienda Agricola Elio Altare
Azienda Agricola Elio Altare sits in Frazione Annunziata, on the La Morra side of Barolo. The family farms about 14 football pitches of vines across some of Piedmont's most-quoted vineyard names. The Altare family founded the estate in 1948, and Elio reshaped it after a trip to Burgundy in 1976. It became one of the original benchmarks of the so-called Barolo Boys generation. His daughter Silvia runs it day-to-day today. Only copper-based sprays are used in the vineyard, and the cellar makes close to 70,000 bottles a year.
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Wines from Azienda Agricola Elio Altare
About Azienda Agricola Elio Altare
The Altare family bought their farm in Frazione Annunziata in 1948, just below the church of La Morra. Grandfather Giuseppe had come down from Dogliani. The first farm was small: seven football pitches of nebbiolo, barbera and dolcetto, mixed with peach, hazelnut and apple trees. In those years fruit paid better than wine. La Morra still defines the cool, perfumed style of the western Barolo zone. Altare's plots in Arborina, Brunate, Cerretta and Cannubi sit firmly inside that style.
Elio took over in the late 1970s. A January 1976 trip to Burgundy was, in his own telling, a revelation. He came home and took a chainsaw to the old wooden tanks. He replanted the vines closer together and started using small French oak barrels. The decision tore the family apart. His father Giovanni disinherited him, and Elio spent years buying the property back from his siblings.
A small group of growers around La Morra made the same break in the 1980s. It became known as the modernist, or Barolo Boys, revolution. Wikipedia's Barolo entry names Altare alongside Ceretto, Cordero di Montezemolo and Renato Ratti. Together they brought shorter macerations, smaller barrels and an international audience to Barolo.
Today the estate makes close to 70,000 bottles a year. Five Barolo DOCG wines lead: Barolo, Arborina, Cannubi, Unoperuno and the Cerretta Vigna Bricco Riserva. A Brunate Riserva joins them. The Langhe Rosso reds are Larigi, from old Barbera vines, Giarborina, a Nebbiolo from Arborina, and La Villa. L'Insieme is a blend that funds the Barolo growers' charity Elio co-founded in 1997. Dolcetto d'Alba, Barbera d'Alba and Langhe Nebbiolo cover everyday drinking. Three are stocked on this site right now: the Barolo, the Barbera d'Alba and the Dolcetto d'Alba.
The farming is deliberately stripped back. Only copper and copper sulphate are used in the vineyard, and the soil is fed with cow manure. Systemic chemicals are out. In the cellar, fermentation runs on wild yeasts and the malolactic conversion happens on its own. The wines are not filtered or fined. Sulphur stays well below the legal Italian ceiling. The family is clear that they do not follow biodynamic rules. This is low-intervention farming by habit, not by certificate.
The business is registered as Azienda Agricola Elio Altare di Silvia Altare. Silvia, the eldest daughter, joined full-time around 2000 and runs the estate day-to-day. Her sister Elena imports the wines into Germany. Elio still watches over the vineyard and cellar. He also keeps side projects in Cinqueterre on the Ligurian coast, and a cheese and herb garden venture at Castelmagno in the Piedmontese Alps. The La Morra cellar opens to the trade by appointment only. Visits are grouped by language and capped at ten people. The estate closes during harvest in September and October.
Plate I · PIEDMONT
Azienda Agricola Elio Altare on the Piedmont wine atlas
Winery
Azienda Agricola Elio Altare
La Morra, Cuneo · Langhe
Denominations Produced
Grapes Used
Visit & Experiences
Experiences at Azienda Agricola Elio Altare
Nothing here can be booked online yet. The experiences below are documented by our editors. The estate's contact details are in Practical info.
Tasting
Trade visit by appointment
Cellar visits and tastings at the estate in Frazione Annunziata are reserved for the trade and run by appointment only, Monday to Friday. Visits are grouped by language and capped at ten people. The cellar is closed during harvest in September and October. There is no online booking; visits are arranged through a local retailer or distributor, by phone or by email.
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Plan your visit
Frazione Annunziata, 51, 12064 La Morra, Cuneo (Piemonte)
What Azienda Agricola Elio Altare makes
Azienda Agricola Elio Altare's current bottle selection is led by Barolo DOCG. The clearest grape signal comes from Nebbiolo and Barbera.
Common questions
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The cellar is at Frazione Annunziata 51, in La Morra, in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont. La Morra forms the western shoulder of the Barolo DOCG zone. It sits between Alba and the village of Barolo itself.
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