The youngest vines in this special part of the Pira cru were planted in 1937, and many of those plants are still on their original rupestris root stock. The gorgeous 2013 Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti absolutely knocks it out of the park. Luca Roagna told me, “this wine was born elegant,” and that’s something you definitely feel in a slightly cooler and later vintage such as this. The younger fruit from Pira is more fleshy and bold, but this old-vine fruit (from heavily calcareous soils) is so much more delineated and firm. The aromatic presentation here is more compact, moving in virtual slow motion and with carefully contemplated shifts. Lastly, the wine bites back with a more pronounced tannic hold that will serve it well as it continues its bottle aging, even through, in essence, the 2013 vintage has already developed impressive complexity and soul.
