Recognising the overriding need to respect and enhance the unique characteristics of the vineyards, we look on these sorì, as well-aspected hillsides are called around here, as magical places where we can rediscover our own roots.
In fact it was in the early 1980s that we decided to go back to our origins as grape growers, well aware that our work did not stop at the end of the row of vines. We had no illusions that we were inventing anything: we merely wanted to comply with the best in the traditions and work of our predecessors, without any preconceived ideas.
The first logical consequence was the decision, from 1978, to vinify and bottle separately grapes from our various vineyards. Our goal was to enable the estate to find its own space in a market where excellent producers were already operating. Our one-step-at-a-time policy began with the successive replantings of our Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto. In 1986, we added a small plot of a non-native variety, Chardonnay, "educating" the fruit to express the terroir into which it had been introduced. At present, our average annual output does not exceed 70,000 bottles, a level that enables us to maintain the family-managed orientation of our work, as well as meticulous control over all stages of winemaking, from vineyard to cellar.
The Estate
Currently, the Elio Grasso estate has a productive vineyard holding of 14 hectares. The cellar uses only estate-grown grapes from varieties traditionally grown, with excellent results, in the Langhe hill country near Alba.
Reflecting the imprint of the vineyard where the fruit was grown in order to give our wines their unique personality is the goal that we - myself, my wife Marina and our son, Gianluca - strive to achieve, with the invaluable assistance of our consultant wine technician, Piero Ballario.
We believe that to be acknowledged first as grape farmers, and then as wine producers, is the best way to honour, and continue the labours of, those who have faced before us the challenges that working with nature and her products, like wine, entails. This, and a desire to be true to ourselves, prompts us propose, without presumption, the convictions and conduct shared by all Langhe farming families, characteristics worth preserving and which we believe make the difference
Vines and Vineyards
The estate-owned vineyards that supply our grapes are all in the municipal territory of Monforte d'Alba.
- Nebbiolo for Barolo
Gavarini Vigna Chiniera, three hectares, 320-360 metres above sea level, south-facing, on relatively loose-packed, slightly sandy, calcareous soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 20 years
Ginestra Vigna Casa Maté, three hectares, 300-350 metres above sea level, south-facing, on relatively loose-packed, slightly clayey, calcareous soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 25 years
Rüncot, 1.8 hectares, 300-320 metres above sea level, south-facing, on relatively loose-packed, slightly clayey, soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare (this is part of the Gavarini vineyard, replanted in 1990, from which we obtain a Barolo, but only in outstanding vintages, starting in 1995).
Average age of productive vines: 10 years
- Nebbiolo for Langhe Nebbiolo
Vineyard, 1.2 hectares, 350-380 metres above sea level, south-facing, on relatively loose-packed calcareous soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 15 years
- Dolcetto d'Alba dei Grassi
Vineyard, 1.5 hectares, 280 metres above sea level, southeast-facing, on relatively loose-packed calcareous soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 30 years
- Barbera d'Alba
Vigna Martina, 2.2 hectares, 380 metres above sea level, southwest-facing, on relatively loose-packed, slightly sandy, calcareous soil, Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 20 years
- Langhe Chardonnay
Vineyard at Gavarini, Monforte, 1.3 hectares, 380-400 metres above sea level, southeast-facing, on relatively loose-packed, sand and limestone soil, modified Casarsa-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare.
Average age of productive vines: 15 years
All our vineyards are fertilised only occasionally, and only if necessary, during the growing year. Yields per hectare and per vine are very low.
The Wines
Our cellar vinifies only estate-grown grapes. The classic Nebbiolo that has been cultivated in the area since the early 20th century has been joined by Dolcetto and Barbera planted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, we decided to add a white variety, Chardonnay. Even though it is not a native vine, Chardonnay has acclimatised wonderfully and its wine acquires a personality that is in full accord with the Alba reds made on the Elio Grasso estate.