2012 Luigi Pira Barolo Serralunga 750 ml

2012 in Barolo: “Outstanding Quality” but Enough to go Around?

In Serralunga, where heavy-hitters like Gaja, Antinori, and Banfi own vineyards less than an hour’s drive south of Turin, the Pira family has been rooted to western-facing hills since the late 1800s. When we met with Gianpaolo Pira before VinItaly 2016 in April, he talked about how history and geography gave him an advantage in 2012. “Having farmed these soils for so long, we know how to overcome the obstacles presented by a challenging vintage.” This centuries-old connection to terroir is exactly what helped the 2012 Luigi Pira Barolo Serralunga hit all the right marks.

The growing season in Serralunga d’Alba started out cold and wet, with the threat of rot and mildew looming in the vineyards. A dry summer relieved most disease pressure, but sunburn torched bunches that were exposed and two hailstorms trimmed yields by 20 to 30 percent. Knowing what he was up against, Gianpaolo Pira dropped yields even further to maximize quality and concentration. “We’ve never worked as hard in the vineyards as we did in 2012,” he told us. “The vines needed round-the-clock attention to overcome the season’s challenges. In the end we came out on top.”

Pira’s Nebbiolo grapes are sourced from three parcels — some of the best single-vineyard Barolo soils in Serralunga — Vigna Rionda, Vigna Marenca, and Vigna Margheria. The first two contribute muscular structure for extended aging, while Vigna Margheria yields concentrated Nebbiolo grapes from 50-year-old vines. All three boast wide swaths of land, rich with cool calcareous-clay soils and microclimates, that lend power, brilliant minerality, freshness, and structure to their Barolos. Standing with Gianpaolo on the Pira winery’s terrace overlooking those three crus, it was easy to grasp the connection the family has to the vines. As he popped the cork on a bottle of the 2012, Gianpaolo said out loud what we were thinking: “It’s very special to have the cellar this close to the vineyard sites.”

In terms of sheer power and finesse, we’ve never tasted anything quite like Pira in the modern era of Barolo. The 2012 Serralunga is intense garnet-red in color with orange hues, and shows off heady aromas of leather, hay, iron-rich earth, and spice — all hallmarks of a classic Barolo. Round fruit on the palate is beautifully bracketed by mouthwatering acidity, and buttressed by the smooth and persistent tannins so characteristic of Serralunga Nebbiolo. While the 2010s will be ready in 2030, drink now, or, as Wine Spectator suggests, lay this Burgundy-esque Barolo down until 2034 just to see how well the Pira holds its own.

$39 on release. Not to be missed by serious Barolo collectors! Just $29.99 today. Shipping included on 4.