Gaja’s Barbaresco red is often seen as the flagship wine of the Gaja estate considering their three Crus are not produced every vintage. Indeed, it is the consistency of quality of this wine that has helped give the entire Barbaresco appellation the reputation it now holds today. The 2020 offering is blended from 14 vineyards situated in the municipality of Barbaresco which covers around 21.4 hectares and the vines have an average age of 45 years old, with each vineyard lot fermented and aged separately for one year before the final blend is made.
The 2020 vintage was characterized by frequent rainfalls that for various reasons can be defined as atypical. Rains were overall above average (the total annual average has been 900 mm in the Barbaresco area compared to the usual 800mm), and the distribution instead of being in winter and spring, was concentrated in the summer months; and surprisingly, despite the very frequent summer thunderstorms, for the first time in many years, none of the vineyards were damaged by hail storms.
Giovanni Gaja presenting the 2020 vintage.
The heat spikes in mid-August and in September from the 10th to the 18th helped with grape maturation and the reaching of final ripeness. Significant temperature variations characterized the rest of September and October, favouring colour and aroma development as well as the overall health of the grapes. The harvest of the Nebbiolo grapes started on September 18th and ended on October 8th.
Gaja Barbaresco 2020 DOCG, Piedmont, 14% Abv.
Light ruby coloured with a brilliant translucence, the 2020 is sleek, powerful, linear and brightly fruited with powdery fine grained mineral tannins over potent peppery red berry aromatics, Asian spices, red cherry and pithy wild strawberry. Medium bodied, ultra-pure and magnificently floral with tantalising salty red liquorice nuances make this an incredibly pretty but substantial expression of Nebbiolo that finishes with creamy, drying stony tannins, a crushed limestone minerality before a final reprise of tangy red cherry pastille. A very impressive Gaja Barbaresco vintage that will drink well from release due to its incredible finesse and elegance but will of course be exponentially better in 4 to 5 years’ time. Yet again, Gaja produces a class act!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Gaja wines are imported exclusively into the UK for trade by Hatch Mansfield and are available retail from specialist fine wine merchants like Museum Wines. http://www.museumwines.co.uk
Poderi e Cantine Oddero was established in the late 18th century by the Oddero family, who have lived in La Morra since the first half of that century. In the 1890s, Giovanni Battista Oddero began vinifying grapes, which lead to the winery’s establishment. Later, his sons, Lorenzo and Luigi followed in his footsteps. It was the first Giacomo Oddero, who started selling wine in bottles. However, it was the second Giacomo Oddero, who renovated the ancient farm and began elevating the quality and prestige of the region’s wine. Today, his legacy lives on through his daughter, Mariacristina, and his grandchildren, Isabella and Pietro, who represent the seventh generation of vinicultural tradition.
Early reports of the 2019 Piedmont vintage described it as a classic year. A cold wet spring slowed vine growth and the persistent rain made rot and disease a threat. However, despite the added risks, the rains gave the soils the much-needed water to survive the warm summer months. June then delivered a fantastic summer with the hot, dry days lasting through to August when a hailstorm broke loose. Good conditions swiftly picked up again and idyllic weather continued into September. Many of the grapes, particularly Nebbiolo, benefitted from the warm days and juxtaposing cool evenings.
Oddero is one of a handful of producers in Barolo who own tracts of the famous and highly sought after Cru Vigna Rionda.
However, a significant thunderstorm, as a final threat to the growing season, struck in early September followed by a nasty hailstorm which, depending on the vineyard, cut yields significantly particularly in Barbaresco. Good conditions allowed the harvest to begin early in September and picking began for both white grape varieties and early-ripening red varieties in the first week, while later-ripening varieties were picked towards the end of the month and into October. The resulting wines reached good phenolic ripeness forecasting good things to come with wines likely to have good fruit character, impressive structure and balancing acidity.
ODDERO LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2020
A taut, fairly reserved aromatics leading with earthy aniseed root, earthy red cherry, tilled earth, chalk dust and red apple skins. Palate is sleek and structured, tight yet generous with hints of tarragon spice, red peppercorns, red cherry and tangy bitter blood orange peel on the finish. A serious effort, with a stern frame, soft but fresh acids and a long harmonious finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BARBARESCO CRU GALLINA 2020
Wonderfully elegant and perfumed styling to this pretty Cru Gallina that shows rose petals, potpourri, red cherry and raspberry herbal tea. The palate shows incredible focus and precision, pristine purity and a fine grained texture bursting with red cherry, cranberry and tart red currant. Fabulously polished marble tannins frame this beautifully harmonious Barbaresco. Very impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO 2018
A blend of Crus including among others Bricco del Fiasco, Villero, Capelot, Rocca di Castiglione, Monvigleiro, Bussia, etc. This wine is lovely and expressive, exotic and complex with deep, rich, sweet red and black cherry notes, kirsch liquor, blood orange, vermouth, subtle reductive saline cassis notes and hints of tar and black liquorice. The palate is beautifully polished, silky yet potent, with creamy powdery tannins, an opulently plump mid-palette and multiple textural layers of red strawberry and black cherry, kirsch and aniseed spice under a veil of smoky minerality. The pedigree of a top producer shines in this pure fruited benchmark estate blend. Bravo!
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Pietro Oddero describing the 2019 vintage at an exclusive UK pre-release tasting.
The New 2019 Releases
ODDERO BAROLO 2019
Another cracking vintage delivers impressive depth and complexity on the nose and palate. The aromatics are expressive and perfumed with rich layers of pressed rose petals, red and black cherry, saline reductive black currant leaf, salty liquorice and subtle caramelised strawberry hints. The palate shows an impressive harmony and an opulent fleshy mouth-filling depth of fruit while retaining sufficient muscle, structure and shape. Vibrant and mouth-wateringly juicy, this is truly an unmissable Barolo normale that will thrill serious Nebbiolo lovers. Drink from 2024 and over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU BRUNATE 2018
A pretty wine with a certain amount of lift and overt perfume already. But still tightly knit and taut aromatics with hints of glacé cherry, red plum, aniseed and vermouth macerated oranges. The palate has purity and precision yet lacks nothing in the power department. Wonderfully sleek, mineral and spicy, you feel the power, the assertiveness and most definitely the precision of polished tight grained tannins. I’m always a fan of top Cru Brunate and this beauty definitely impresses again. Most certainly youthful but undoubtedly there’s a super seductive essence to this wine. I’m totally sold!
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU BRUNATE 2019
Always an impressive Cru in great vintages, this is a rich, perfumed potent Brunate with aromatics of red cherry, dried herbs, tea leaf and a complex spearmint and cinamon lift. The palate shows a generous volume of red and black berry fruits, a plush fleshy mid-palate depth and delicious stony mineral layers that melt seamlessly into a juicy red cherry and spicy, earthy cranberry length. Pin point Barolo perfection. Simply superb!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU ROCCHE DI CASTIGLIONE 2019
A lovely individual expression of Nebbiolo that reveals rich earthy, savoury red and black bramble berry fruits, sun dried cherry, aniseed stick and dried fennel seeds. The palate is broad and muscular with a fine grained mouth coating mineral tannin, spicy sweet baking herbs and a broody, fleshy finish with subdued berry fruits. Bury this beauty in the cellar for at least 5 to 8 years and your patience will be rewarded.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU VILLERO 2019
This shows a darker fruited expression than the Brunate but still with plenty of overt appeal, tar and roses, smokey reductive saline cassis and sweet earthy black cherry nuances. The palate boasts a generous, fleshy, fruit forward opulence with seductive showy red and black berry concentration, sweet fleshy tannins and a long, creamy, mouth-coating candied finish. Fabulous depth, plenty of fire power and undeniable class.
A much bolder, riper, deeper red expression with lush, broody, opulent aromatic layers of black cherry, liquorice, caramelised red cherry, vanilla pod and a broody, exotic earthy blood orange depth. Super plump, dense, focused yet deliciously spicy, taut and linear with frame and tension. Certainly enough extract and stuffing on the palate to allow this to age for quite a few more years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU BUSSIA VIGNA MONDOCA 2017
Another potent, focused, powerful expression of Nebbiolo with piercing aromatics of black cherry, kirsch, melted black liquorice, polish mahogany and smoky hot tarmac. The complexity follows to the palate, showing a surprisingly silky, spicy, accessible elegance, a delicately fleshy savoury red and black berry fruit concentration, caramelised vanilla pod hints and a long, plush, finessed finish. A real beauty and an absolute triumph for the vintage! Ready to go now.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
ODDERO BAROLO CRU VIGNA RIONDA RISERVA 2016
This is one of the most coveted Crus of Serralunga d’Alba, an exceptional place where Barolo and Nebbiolo expresses itself in a truly unique way. The 2016 shows a complex set of aromatics in the glass revealing layers of earthy truffle, savoury red fruits, smoky cured meats, bresaola, salty liquorice, tar and roses and a subtle smoky hint of reduction. There’s a savoury, earthy red fruited ethereal power veiled under extreme textural elegance, salty concentration and focused mineral length. Vigna Rionda’s mystery lies in the sum of its characteristics and is manifested perfectly in a wonderful 5 star vintage like 2016. A true wine for connoisseurs and collectors alike. Make space in your cellar!!
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Oddero wines are available to UK trade from their exclusive importer Astrum Wines.
This famed co-operative in Piedmont dates back to 1894; forced to close in the 1920s because of fascist economic rules, it was regenerated and revived in 1958 by the village priest of Barbaresco who recognized that the only way the small properties could survive long term was by joining forces and combining their efforts.
Today the cooperative is comprised of 50 families and 100+ hectares of solely Nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation, which amounts to almost 1/6th of the vineyards of the appellation. With village Barbaresco and the crus pushing such high prices, attention once again has reverted to some of the great Co-ops who traditionally produce some of the regions best value for money wines. Produttori del Barbaresco’s mission is clear – “Excellence in Simplicity”.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021, 14% Abv.
An impressively substantial wine yet again from Aldo Vacca and this world famous red wine Co-operative. The wine has a real presence showing complex aromatic layers of wild herbs, dried blood orange, botanicals, vermouth spices over pink musk, red cherry and candied red berry fruits. The palate is sumptuously muscular, plump and fleshy, but beautifully mellow and harmonious with a massive red and black berry fruit concentration, spicy herby tannins and an incredibly bold, vibrant acidity that once again underpins the fabulous depth of fruit and fleshy opulence. This is the real deal, a substantial Nebbiolo that simply sings in the glass. Bravo Aldo! I don’t know how you do it, year in and year out, but the Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021 is an absolute winner. Drink on release and over 10 to 12 plus years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2019, 14% Abv.
High expectations for this new release coming from such a highly lauded vintage, the 2019 does not disappoint. Bold and punchy from start to finish, the nose boasts a multi-layered melange of lavender, violets, ripe red and black cherries, botte oak spice, potpourri and perfumed bathroom soaps. Seductive and muscular, the palate is as bold as it gets with a rich vein of textured mineral tannins over dense, sweet pithy berry fruits before the finish is overwhelmed by a chalky, spicy, stony minerality. This is a very serious piece of kit with high aspirations and serious intent that is sure to seduce serious Piedmont Nebbiolo collectors.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wines available to the trade in the UK from Astrum Wines. Langhe Nebbiolo retails for circa £25-£26pb and the Barbaresco for circa £40pb Inc. Vat.
This famed co-operative in Piedmont dates back to 1894; forced to close in the 1920s because of fascist economic rules, it was regenerated and revived in 1958 by the village priest of Barbaresco who recognized that the only way the small properties could survive long term was by joining forces and combining their efforts. Today the cooperative has 56 members and 100+ hectares of Nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation, which amounts to almost 1/6th of the vineyards of the appellation.
Their Langhe Nebbiolo in particular has long been one of the greatest and most profound value reds on the international wine market, recognised and lauded unanimously by critics far and wide. With the new 2020 releases, it will of course take some time before a more complete assessment of the vintage can be formed and final conclusions made about the potential quality of the embryonic Barbaresco and Barolo wines in barrel. But like much of Europe, Italy experienced a warmer than average growing season in 2020 which resulted in an earlier than usual harvest. Current evidence suggests that the earlier ripening varieties like Barbera were picked in great health, while the warm days and cool nights proved perfectly suited for the late-ripening Nebbiolo grapes.
Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2020, 14% Abv.
Produttori del Barbaresco makes its Langhe Nebbiolo with declassified Barbaresco fruit (often from parcels on lower slopes) so production volumes are notably reduced in the better vintages when more of the prime fruit finds its way into their delicious village Barbaresco DOCG or indeed one of the classy nine Cru Riservas. This young 2020 Nebbiolo certainly shows great promise with an immediately attractive array of aromatics that boast dark cherry, damson plum, sweet herbs, blood orange and a slight menthol top note. Always wonderfully intense and potent, the palate displays a medium bodied weight of red and black berry fruits, macerated strawberries and sweet cherries with an underlying cool, suave elegance and a fresh acid vitality. The finish is creamy and plush with soft plump tannins, subtle piquant black liquorice notes and a pure, weightless length. Delightfully streamlined and accessible, this 2020 continues a fine run of vintages for Produttori del Barbaresco. Drink from release and over 5 to 8 years.
One of the oldest and most famous producers in Barbaresco, Giuseppe Cortese makes some of the regions most classically proportioned wines from their eight hectares of vineyards, over four of which are located in the iconic Cru of Rabaja. Producing wines according to traditional methods but using the latest modern winemaking technology, Azienda Agricola Cortese has managed to bridge the gap between high quality and affordability.
With new vintages recently released and on their way to the UK, today I tasted a snap shot of their new wines with one of their main importers, Wood Winters UK.
Giuseppe Cortese Langhe Bianco DOC Scapulin 2019, 12% Abv.
Using spontaneous Chardonnay fermentation in stainless steel before being divided into an amphora, a stainless steel and a large French old oak portion in roughly thirds for 9 to 10 months ageing before being blended. The nose shows hints of flinty stony reduction with almond skins, limestone, white citrus and dried herbs. The palate is sleek, polished and textural with leesy, pithy almond skins, wet river pebble stony nuances and a long, full, smokey finish with just a hint of marzipan. A lovely gastronomic expression of Chardonnay. Drink now to 2028+.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Giuseppe Cortese Morassina Barbera d’Alba 2016, 14.5% Abv.
Aged for 18 months in French oak barriques and large oak casks, the aromatics show lovely pure red and black berry notes with violets, cherry cola, red plums and earthy strawberries. On the palate the vibrancy and freshness shines through with a well balanced, integrated lick of oak, plenty of sweet spices, red liquorice and a fleshy full textured red fruited depth that is creamy and utterly seductive. Impressively balanced and harmonious, this is a whole lot of classy wine for the price.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Giuseppe Cortese DOCG Barbaresco 2018, 14.5% Abv.
Only produced since 2017, this second release shows a lovely translucent garnet ruby colour and an elegantly restrained nose of dried herbs, potpourri, red cherries, cola, blood orange and a hint of melted tar. The palate is cool and supple, texturally creamy and mineral with a lovely full mouthfeel, bright tart cherry acids, sweet red berry fruits and a fine stony mineral red fruited length. Very accessible now but retains enough stony fine grained mineral tannin tension to make this wine age worthy. Drink now to 2030+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Giuseppe Cortese DOCG Barbaresco Rabaja 2018, 14.5% Abv.
The is a darker, broodier expression of Nebbiolo with plenty of black berry fruits, liquorice, tar, sweet truffle oil and tilled earth nuances intertwined with complex cedar spice and sappy sandalwood notes. The palate is bold and powerful with silky but potent mineral tannins, graphite spice, salty black liquorice and a long stony, pithy black cherry finish. A delicious expression that is surprisingly seductive now but will age for a decade or more.
After a high quality 2015 vintage that produced ripe, well structured wines, the mesmerising 2016 vintage came along and took the global market for Barolo and Barbaresco by storm. Luscious, powerful and structured but with incredible balance, freshness and intensity, 2016 was certainly a vintage that was not going to be forgotten in a hurry.
With impossible expectations set for the 2017 Barolo releases, this hot, dry and much more challenging vintage was never going to be an easy sell to the mainstream collector market especially after so many customers had dug deep into their pockets to go long on the lauded 2016s. But great wineries are capable of producing accomplished wines even in the tricky vintages especially when the fruit comes from a high class vineyard site like the Cru Margheria in Serralunga.
Cantina Luigi Pira Barolo Margheria 2017, 14.5% Abv.
The Luigi Pira 2017 Barolo Cru Margheria is an exotically perfumed expression from this warmer, dryer vintage showing complex aromatics of purple flowers, violets, pink musk, hints of cherry cola, salty red liquorice, creme de cassis, tart blueberries and melted tar. The tannins are sweet and powdery, fine grained and mouth-coating, balanced by a wonderfully juicy, tangy tart red cherry acidity and a plush textured mineral grip. The 2017 is slightly more accessible and slimline than the block buster 2016 but no less seductive, elegant and alluring. Another very impressive and expressive Cru Barolo from Pira. Drink this now on release and over 10 to 12+ years.
The 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco might be an easy-drinking wine but it shows all the sophistication of Nebbiolo fruit that could easily pass for a village Barolo with grapes often sourced from Cru vineyards such as Fiasco, Bussia, Fossati, Bricco delle Viole and Ravera di Monteforte. Indeed, the name “Perbacco” as the story goes, translates into a somewhat entertaining “golly gosh” or “wow” because that was the reported reaction winemaker Luca Currado’s mother made when she first tasted the wine and was told it was not a Barolo!
The grapes for this wine are grown in various selected vineyards sites mostly in the Barolo area and a minor part in Barbaresco. The vineyard’s soils are made up of mostly marl (limestone in combination with clay) and the alcoholic fermentation generally lasts around three to four weeks at controlled temperatures (28°-32°) with the subsequent malolactic fermentation continuing in stainless steel tanks. Each parcel is processed and aged separately until the components are selected to be included for either the final blend of Perbacco or else left to age an extra two years longer to become DOCG Barolo Castiglione. Total ageing time for Perbacco wine components is approximately 16 to 18 months before bottling.
Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo 2019, 14% Abv.
Deep, dark and richly coloured, there is every suggestion this is going to be a big old wine! On the nose, the Nebbiolo fruit delivers aromatic layers of ripe sweet red cherries, red liquorice, hints of crème de cassis together with sweet herbal notes of freshly chopped parsley. But it’s on the palate where the true power and pedigree of this wine is revealed, showcasing intense concentrated small berry fruits, delicious purity and intensity, compact concentrated tannin extract and plenty of textured glycerol mouthfeel laced with pithy cherry and peppery spice notes. With quality and intensity like this, you can easily see why the Langhe Nebbiolo denomination is one of the fastest growing wine categories in the entire Piedmont region. Drink now with some rich wintery cuisine or else bury in your cellar for 3 to 5+ more years before revisiting.
The undisputed red co-operative champion of the wine world, Produttori del Barbaresco produce, year after year, some of the most scintillating wines of Barbaresco and indeed Piedmont. Masters of Nebbiolo, the 2018 vintage with its cool, damp and fresh weather conditions served up a long list of challenges for producers, yet after all was said and done, many wineries made some exceptional wines fully deserving of the vintage’s 4-star rating with an emphasis on short to medium-term drinking over long-term cellaring.
Produtorri del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2018, DOCG Barbaresco, 14.5% Abv.
We all know when Produttori del Barbaresco decide not to bottle all their great nine grower crus, the resulting wines are all blended into the Barbaresco DOCG normale cuvee. 2018 is just such a vintage and sure enough, eager collectors have been waiting for this super charged Nebbiolo release. On initial examination, the wine shows the most pretty, lifted, inviting aromatics of dried rose petals, crushed coriander, tart red cherries, salty blueberries and a seductive red liquorice complexity. On the palate, there is an attractive translucent purity and silky filigree tannins that combine with a suave, lithe, harmonious concentration of red cherry candied fruits, touches of tar, saline cassis, sloe berries and a finish that typifies true, pure classical Nebbiolo fruit. While the seductive allure of the perfumed aromatics currently outpace the slightly backwardness of the palate fruit density and structure, all the signs in the glass point to another extremely fine and supremely attractive Barbaresco release. Drink from 2022 to 2034+.
With the Gaja Crus of Sori Tilden, Sori San Lorenzo and Costa Russi now almost out of the financial reach of many fine wine consumers, the annual new release of Gaja’s perennially impressive DOCG Barbaresco has certainly taken on a new level of interest and attention from the broader ranks of the global fine wine trade. So when Gaia Gaja made her first trip back to London since the beginning of the pandemic, the stage was set for an exciting Barbaresco launch.
After the warm and dry 2017 harvest, the 2018 vintage was characterised by early flowering and then a cooler summer with periods of rain that proved challenging to grape growers. Indeed, between the 1st of May and the 15th of June, the region saw pretty much uninterrupted rain showers which resulted in downy and powdery mildew in many areas. To compound the problems, the 17th of July saw hail hit the Barbaresco vineyards… “because the hail canons of the town were not used in time because all the villagers were watching Italy play France at football”… Gaia Gaja joked. A more windy, dry and hot September brought on the start of the harvest slightly ahead of schedule with picking finishing on the 9th of October. Despite the challenges of the weather during the growing season, 2018 is generally considered a better vintage than the warmer 2017, yielding wines with great purity, minerality and refinement.
In 2018, no Crus were made at Gaja for the first time since 2012, with all the Sori Tilden fruit and half of the Costa Russi fruit being blended into the DOCG Barbaresco (part of Costa Russi is being replanted). No Sori San Lorenzo wine was produced. While normally a blend of 14 parcels around Barbaresco, the 2018 did see some of these parcels excluded from the blend but the additions of the Cru fruit certainly acted to bolster the cepage quality considerably.
Gaja Barbaresco 2018, DOCG Barbaresco, 14% Abv.
Wonderfully pure and translucent with gorgeous red cherry and ruby hues. The nose shows impressively perfumed, opulent, hedonistic notes of stewed strawberries, fraise des bois, cured bresaola, tilled earth, tar, salty red liquorice and beautifully detailed nuances of aniseed stick. The palate texture is dense yet crisp, fresh, creamy and full in the mouth with a weighty mid-palate concentration, layered chalky, stony mineral Nebbiolo tannins over black cherry and tart blueberry fruits. This is a classical expression of Barbaresco that will appeal to the purists and collectors alike – Very fine, perfumed and beautifully expressive but also powerful, super seductive and accessible. Drink now and over the next 25+ years.
Admittedly, I love Barolo and drink a lot of all the top producer’s wines at any chance I get, but I have to be honest that while I’d heard a little bit about the Luigi Pira wines, I had never tasted any. So what a way to acquaint oneself with a new Barolo producer’s wines than to taste their blockbuster 2016s!
Founded by the Pira family in 1950, this Serralunga estate consists of 12 hectares of vineyards at 300 metres above sea level with winemaking duties overseen by Giampaolo Pira. Vigna Marenca and Vigna Margheria are reputed to be some of the best vineyards in the township of Serralunga and this estate produces single vineyard Baroli from plots owned in all of these crus (which can be seen from the azienda’s terrace). In the 1950s the grapes were initially sold off. In the subsequent years, small quantities of Barolo started to be bottled at the estate.
In 1993 the Baroli Margheria and Marenca were produced followed by Barolo Vigna Rionda in 1997. The wines from these three crus are typical of the great terroir of Serralunga displaying great minerality, intensity and power. Barolo Margheria, made from 50-year-old vines, is the most classical. Barolo Marenca and Barolo Vigna Rionda are structured and complex, with a lot of muscle and age ability. But tasting all these crus for the first time was certainly an exciting exercise.
Luigi Pira Serralunga Barolo 2016, 14.5% Abv.
The Luigi Pira 2016 Barolo Serralunga is another fabulously dense and sweetly fruited Nebbiolo that has just the most seductive aromatics of dried rose petals, violets, potpourri, orange peel, tea tree oil, tart red cherries and an exotic licorice and wild herb botanical top note. The palate is cool, plush and powerful with fleshy layers of red and black cherry, char grilled herbs, dried ginger and plenty of dried thyme and sage. True to the iconic 2016 vintage, this wine combines classical Serralunga structure and power with a beautiful fruit opulence and concentration. Deliciously accessible and fresh, this is another Barolo beauty from the vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Luigi Pira Margheria Barolo 2016, 14.5% Abv.
The Luigi Pira 2016 Barolo Margheria is an exotic, complex expression of the vintage with the most intricate aromatics of pressed purple flowers, pink musk , cherry cola, licorice and tar, dried rose petals and the most personality filled botanical, herbal vermouth spice nuances. The tannins are powerful and grainy coating the mouth with a fabulously plush mineral grip. On the palate there are hints of saline cassis, black cherry and bramble berry spice with a long, liquid mineral stony finish. This possess all the power and structure to last a very long time in the cellar. Something very serious but also very magical from a fantastic Barolo vintage. (7,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Luigi Pira Marenca Barolo 2016, 14.5% Abv.
With one of the only other Marenca Crus produced going into the Gaja Sperss Barolo cuvee, you know this is a very special site. So with Sperss 2016 garnering a perfect 100 points from the Wine Advocate, you would expect this wine to also show something extra special sharing the same terroir. This Marenca is almost like a subtle blend of the Pira Margheria and the Pira Serralunga Barolo wines with rich, plump, bold dark berry nuances, pink musk, charcoal embers, licorice and potpourri spice but also notes of freshly tilled earth, crushed gravel, iron and blood together with a fabulous dried herb and wood spice melange. The palate is deceptively generous and cool with seductively textured layers of blue and black berry fruits, cassis, black currant, purple rock candy, graphite and the most suave fleshy plump tannins I have tasted on a Nebbiolo in a long time. This really is classy and classical, yet supremely ripe, intense and just drop dead gorgeous. A very fine effort from Pira!
Greg Sherwood MW 