2006 Luigi Pira Barolo Margheria

The 2006 Barolo Margheria is an imposing, weighty wine packed with dark red fruit, scorched earth, spices and licorice. Though still impressively clenched and tight, the Margheria seems to have enough fruit to balance out its structural components. Today, the wine is remarkable for its sheer power and length, both of which augur well for the future.

The 2006 Barolo Margheria is an imposing, weighty wine packed with dark red fruit, scorched earth, spices and licorice. Though still impressively clenched and tight, the Margheria seems to have enough fruit to balance out its structural components. Today, the wine is remarkable for its sheer power and length, both of which augur well for the future. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026. Giampaolo Pira’s Barolos are some of the most massive, rich wines readers are likely to come across, but they rarely fail to deliver the goods. Like most producers, Pira has begun to reduce the level of small, new oak barrels in his Barolos, and the results are striking. The Barolo and Barolo Margheria are both aged in cask. The Marenca is aged in medium-size 500-liter barrels, while the Vigna Rionda sees smaller 225-liter French oak barrels. Though soft spoken, Giampaolo Pira is among Piedmont’s most ambitious young growers, as these wines fully attest. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including: de Grazia Imports; tel. (417) 732-4200; Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; (516) 677-9300, Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael CA; (415) 492-9411, Giuliana Imports, Boulder CO; (303) 547-6343, Robert Houde Wines, Bensenville IL; (630) 422-1119

Good deep red. Distinctly wild nose offers dried flowers, leather and a whiff of game. Silky, lush and sweet on entry, then a bit dusty on the back half, with leather and earth notes emerging. I'd drink this over the next five years in spite of its broad tannins.