The Altare family bought a 5-hectare farm in La Morra in 1948. Elio took over in the late 1970s and immediately clashed with his father over winemaking philosophy. After his trip to Burgundy in 1976, he introduced shorter fermentation, green harvesting, lower yields and small French oak barrels. In the summer of 1983, he destroyed the family's old botti with a chainsaw in the courtyard, a symbolic act that scandalised the Langhe. His father subsequently disinherited him. Undeterred, Elio bought the property back and continued refining his approach. Alongside producers like Paolo Scavino, Roberto Voerzio and Luciano Sandrone, he became part of the modernist movement that divided Barolo into two camps throughout the 1980s and 90s. Today, the estate has expanded to 12 hectares across some of Barolo's finest sites.