Michele Chiarlo

Pietro Chiarlo was born into a farming family in Bubbio in 1898 and returned to Calamandrana determined to invest in the estate and in wine production; he was president of the Cooperative Winery of Calamandrana until 1980. His first-born son, Michele Chiarlo (1935-2023), studied at the winemaking school in Alba, where his classmates included Renato Ratti, Ezio Rivella, Franco Ziliani, Giuliano Noè and Giacomo Tachis. In 1956 Michele Chiarlo began producing wine, and the first Barolo cru bottled under his name dates from 1958; that first Barolo was made from purchased grapes. From the mid-1960s he worked to open export markets in Northern Europe and the Americas. In 1972 a larger winery was built in Calamandrana. In 1974 he was among the first to make a Barbera using malolactic fermentation. In 1978 the first selections of Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera d'Asti were created, and in the 1980s the winery introduced targeted green harvesting. He acquired Cerequio, in La Morra, in 1988 and Cannubi the following year, and in 1995 bought Tenuta La Court at Castelnuovo Calcea. His two sons joined the business in the 1990s, Stefano handling viticulture and vinification and Alberto working in sales and marketing. Today Stefano and Alberto Chiarlo carry forward the family business.

• 1956: Michele Chiarlo began producing wine; 1958: first Barolo cru bottled under his name.
• 1972: larger winery built in Calamandrana; 1974: a Barbera made using malolactic fermentation.
• 1988: Cerequio acquired; 1989: Cannubi; 1995: Tenuta La Court.
• 1990s: Stefano and Alberto Chiarlo joined the family business.

Stefano Chiarlo is owner, oenologist and vineyard manager, and Alberto Chiarlo is owner and marketing and sales director. Gianni Meleni is an oenologist on the team, and Adam Verona is Global Export Sales Director. The next generation of the Chiarlo family is beginning to take its first steps into the business.

• Stefano Chiarlo: owner, oenologist and vineyard manager.
• Alberto Chiarlo: owner, marketing and sales director.

The winery cultivates 110 hectares of vineyards between the Langhe, Monferrato and Gavi. In Cerequio, between La Morra and Barolo, it manages six hectares of Nebbiolo acquired in 1988; the vines were planted between 1972 and 1990 at 320 metres, on calcareous clay marl of sedimentary marine origin from the Tortonian period. The Cannubi vineyard, owned since 1989, covers about one hectare in the historic heart of the cru at 240 metres, on a steep slope terraced with turfed embankments. In Barbaresco the winery works about one hectare in Asili, about one hectare in Faset and about 0.34 hectares in Montestefano, where the vines are over 50 years old. Tenuta La Court, the former Aluffi estate, is a single parcel of over 20 hectares on two hills at Castelnuovo Calcea; its Barbera was planted in 1976 on the soils known as Astian sands. In Gavi, the Rovereto cru supplies Cortese from five hectares at 400 to 500 metres on dark red clay marl. Other named vineyards include La Serra (Albarossa DOC), Montemareto and Costa delle Monache (Barbera d'Asti DOCG) and Nivole (Moscato d'Asti DOCG). Cerequio and La Court are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

• 110 hectares between the Langhe, Monferrato and Gavi.
• Barolo: Cerequio (6 ha, acquired 1988) and Cannubi (about 1 ha, owned since 1989).
• Barbaresco: Asili and Faset (about 1 ha each) and Montestefano (about 0.34 ha).
• Nizza: Tenuta La Court, over 20 ha on two hills at Castelnuovo Calcea, acquired 1995. Gavi: Rovereto, 5 ha.

The wines are 100% indigenous, from Piedmont vineyards, including Nebbiolo, Barbera, Moscato and Cortese, without international varieties. The range is organised in three collections. The Crus collection includes Barolo Cerequio and Cerequio Riserva, Barolo Cannubi and Cannubi Riserva, Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano, Barbaresco Asili and Faset, Nizza Riserva La Court and La Court Vignaveja, Nizza Montemareto and Cipressi, and the Gavi del Comune di Gavi Rovereto and Gavi Fornaci. The Classic collection includes Tortoniano Barolo and Tortoniano Barolo Riserva, Reyna Barbaresco, Barbera d'Asti Le Orme, Langhe Nebbiolo Il Principe, Gavi Le Marne, Roero Arneis Le Madri and Moscato d'Asti Nivole. The Palás collection comprises a Barolo, a Barbaresco, a Barbera d'Asti, a Gavi and a Moscato d'Asti. Barolo Cerequio and Barolo Cannubi ferment for 20 days on the skins in 55-hectolitre oak vats and age for two years in average-sized oak casks, with a minimum of three years of ageing. The Barolo Cerequio Riserva comes from the oldest Cerequio parcel, planted in 1972, which is also the smallest at 0.9 hectares, and is made only in exceptional years.

• Three collections: Crus, Classic and Palás.
• Barbera: Le Orme, Nizza Cipressi, Nizza Montemareto, Nizza Riserva La Court and La Court Vignaveja.
• Gavi: Gavi del Comune di Gavi Rovereto, Gavi Fornaci and Gavi Le Marne.

On its own site the winery lists Equalitas sustainability certification, and its vineyard pages place Cerequio, Cannubi, Asili, Faset and La Court in the V.I.V.A. "Sustainable Wine" project. In 2024 a 268 kWp solar photovoltaic system was installed on the winery roof. Since 2016 the winery facade has been covered in greenery as a vertical garden. The winery uses lightweight glass bottles and cardboard packaging in place of wooden crates. At the La Court estate the electrical cables were buried and the cement poles replaced with wood poles.

• 2024: 268 kWp photovoltaic system on the winery roof.
• Since 2016: vertical garden on the winery facade.
• Lightweight glass bottles and cardboard packaging.

Art Park La Court was created in 2003 within the La Court estate at Castelnuovo Calcea. Its landscape was designed by Emanuele Luzzati, whose sculptures follow an itinerary dedicated to the elements of earth, water, air and fire, alongside works by Ugo Nespolo, Giancarlo Ferraris and Chris Bangle. Palás Cerequio, a relais dedicated to the Barolo crus, opened in 2011 within the Cerequio cru at La Morra, created from the restoration of an eighteenth-century palace. In October 2024 the Cannubi Path, an artistic trail designed by Ugo Nespolo, was inaugurated in the winery's Cannubi vineyard. Michele Chiarlo was among the founders of the Consorzio Grandi Vini in 1987 and among the founding members of Hastae, an association of Barbera d'Asti producers, in 1996. Together with oenologist Giuliano Noè, he was among the pioneers of the Nizza designation, recognised as a DOCG in 2014. In 2004 the winery was selected to take part in the Istituto del vino italiano di qualità Grandi Marchi, and in 2012 it was among the founders of the Accademia del Barolo. In 2022 Barolo Cerequio and Barbaresco Faset began distribution through La Place de Bordeaux.

• 2003: Art Park La Court created at Castelnuovo Calcea.
• 2011: Palás Cerequio opened at La Morra; October 2024: Cannubi Path inaugurated.
• Founding member of the Consorzio Grandi Vini (1987), Hastae (1996) and the Accademia del Barolo (2012).
• 2022: Barolo Cerequio and Barbaresco Faset distributed through La Place de Bordeaux.

The winery describes its style as 'expressed through the quest for balance, elegance, taste and complexity,' and its wines as 'Long-lived and well structured wines which maintain the memory of the terroirs from which they are born.' Its stated approach is 'only great vineyards, only indigenous vines, only vinification in purity.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/about/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/news-en/1956-2026-michele-chiarlo-marks-70-years-of-history/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/contacts/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/cru-and-vineyards/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/wines/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/about/sustainability/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/art-park-la-court/, https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/palas-cerequio/, and the site's cru pages (Cerequio, Cannubi, Asili, Montestefano, Faset, La Court, Rovereto) and wine pages (Barbera d'Asti Le Orme, Barolo Cerequio, Barolo Cannubi, Nizza Riserva La Court, Gavi Rovereto, Nizza Cipressi) under https://www.michelechiarlo.it/en/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Martin Green, 21 November 2023) and Wine Spectator (Bruce Sanderson, 21 November 2023). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.