Luigi Pira - Barolo Margheria 2016

Robert Parker : 96

' The Luigi Pira 2016 Barolo Margheria is a soulful wine that opens to a floral bouquet marked by blue flower, pressed violet and lilac. Those aromas are wonderfully elegant and nuanced, and the wine sports a graceful and polished personality. Nothing is out of place. At the core, you get wild berry and cassis. Dig a little deeper to discover rusted iron or ferrous earth. Fruit is sourced from a 1.5-hectare site with classic Serralunga d'Alba calcareous clay soils that lend more structure and power to the wine. Some 7,000 bottles were produced, and I highly suggest you seek these out. '

Monica Larner

Vinous : 92

'The 2014 Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d'Alba is the only wine Giampaolo Pira made in 2014, and is a blend of all the best fruit from the Marenca, Margheria and Collina Rionda vineyards. Powerful and dense in the glass, but in the mid-weight style of the year, Pira's 2014 has a lot to offer. There is plenty of the depth and power readers have come to expect from Pira's wines, but naturally tempered by the personality of the year. Iron, smoke, cedar, savory herbs, tobacco and cured meats add to the wine's brooding, virile personality. '

Antonio Galloni