The 2013 Barolo Pira is dark and powerful to its core. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2013 is all nerves and muscle. Iron, blood, smoke, cedar, smoke and licorice give the 2013 much of its super-distinctive flavor profile. In the glass, the 2013 is wonderfully deep and exotic, with layers of dimension that open up effortlessly over time. Readers will have to be patient with the 2013, but it is hugely promising. Sadly, prices for the Roagna wines have gone up dramatically in recent years. If there is one wine that readers should absolutely not miss, it is the 2013 Barolo Pira.

The 2013 Barolo Pira sees fruit sourced from a five-hectare plot (with 16,800 bottles made). The Pira vineyard is Roagna’s home-base parcel and is the biggest single vineyard the family cultivates in the Barolo appellation. Pira is easy to recognize in terms of bouquet, thanks to those distinctive aromas of dried rose petal and balsam herb that lift gently from the bouquet. Due to long maceration times, which are the norm here at Roagna, the wine’s color shows medium intensity, but that color should be fixed and stable over the long haul because any remaining material in suspension has since fallen out, thanks to the slow fermentation process. This wine delivers evident structure and a touch of rawness or naked nerve that underlines the wine’s young age (and, consequently, its long future aging potential). Dark fruit and a touch of sweet spice add volume to the finish.