Luigi Pira Langhe Nebbiolo 2016
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Wine Spectator
A more delicate style, boasting red fruit flavors of strawberry and cherry, with a touch of flowers. The structure here is softer and the finish long. Drink now through 2024.
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James Suckling
A firm and lightly chewy nebbiolo with lots of dried-strawberry and hazelnut character, fine tannins and a fresh finish. Drink in 2019.
Established in the early 1950s, at first the estate only produced and sold grapes. Later on, wine was produced and sold in bulk to local negociants. Only a few years ago the estate started ageing and bottling its own wines. Giampaolo Pira recently took the reins at his family’s eight-hectare estate, overseeing the cellars while brother Romolo and father Luigi maintain the vineyards. Pira’s holdings are in the three most prestigious crus in the Serralunga commune: "Margheria," "Marenca," and "Rionda."
Italian Red Wine
While picturesque hillsides, endless coastlines and a favorable climate serve to unify the grape-growing culture of this country. The apparent never-ending world of indigenous grape varieties gives Italy an unexampled charm and allure for its red wines. From the steep inclines of the Alps to the sprawling, warm, coastal plains of the south, red grape varieties thrive throughout.
The kings of Italy, wines like Barolo and Barbaresco (made of Nebbiolo), and Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino (made of Sangiovese), as well as Amarone (mostly Corvina), play center stage for the most lauded, collected and cellar-worthy reds. Less popular but entirely deserving of as much praise are the wines made from Aglianico, Sagrantino and Nerello Mascalese.
For those accustomed to drinking New World reds, the south is the place to start. Grapes like Negroamaro or Primitvo from Puglia and Nero d’Avola from Sicily make soft, ammicable, full-bodied, fruit-dominant wines. Curious palates should be on the lookout for Cannonau (Grenache), Lagrein, Teroldego, Ruché, Freisa, Cesanese, Schiopettino, Rossese and Gaglioppo to name a few.