Barolo, Pira, Vecchie Viti, 2010

The youngest vines here were planted in 1937. The other difference is the even longer and slower fermentation than the regular Pira. The Vecchie Viti spends between 80-90 days on the skins compared to 50-60. A glorious, hedonistic aroma of ripe wild strawberries, the palate is fleshy, voluptuous and offers a wonderful mix of dark hedgerow and sweet summer berry fruit, overlaying a cool earthiness. Smooth, multi-layered and structured, this is traditional Barolo at its most complex and corpulent. From old vines within the Pira vineyard. Facing Serralunga, a south east exposure, Pira is the lower part of the famous Rocche di Castiglione cru and is a monopole of the Roagna family. The soils here are a complex mixture of sand, clay limestone and blue marl.