Pira’s Barolo Marenca is one of the biggest, most extroverted wines being made today in Piedmont and the 2006 is no exception. It shows a touch more opulence than the Margheria in its intense, dark fruit. Readers will find incredible harmony here, and a finish that lasts forever. Iron, tar, licorice and smoke linger on the powerful finish. This is a marvelous Barolo from Pira, but patience is the key. 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

The Luigi Pira estate delivers a knockout Barolo (from the Marenca vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba) with impressive integrity of fruit, vibrant cherry and blackberry backed by warming aromas of chocolate and spice. The wine is velvety-rich and opulent in the mouth. Drink after 2018. ——M.L.(12/1/2010)—— 94