In some ways they are
old-fashioned here. The grandfather of the family labels every single bottle by
hand, at a time when other wineries have adopted labeling machines a long time
ago. However, it is not only the grandfather, who personifies the history of the estate.
The vineyard manager too, has been working the vines of the Pira vineyards for
over 60 years. He has developed such an affinity for the vines, the grapes and
earth that it is quite impressive talking to him. There are no laboratories
used to determine when is the right time for the harvest, or how the earth has to be worked, only his intuition is
needed.
The Pira family used
to run this estate for generations, yet when all male members died, they sold
the property to friends, who now take care of it: The Boschis. At the moment,
Chiara Boschis is running the show. Immediately after taking over, she started
introducing more modern production techniques. The fermentation now takes place
at very high temperatures, and only lasts for a short time, after which the
wines get transferred into 50% new oak. Her goal is to produce wines that have
softer, and fewer tannins and are thus more approachable in their youth. All
that remains of the traditional methods is a fermentation tank that somehow
acts as a reminder of the long history of this estate.
The annual production rarely exceeds 2000 cases
The wines produced
here are of great quality, but not available in large quantities. The entire
estate's vineyards cover only 6.5h of land, and only about 2.5h are used to
produce the Barolo. Those two and a half hectares are located in the finest
possible places: Cannubi, Cannubi San Lorenzo and Via Nuova. With such a small
estate, it is not astonishing that the annual production rarely exceeds 2000
cases.
Mentioning 2000: The
year 2000 was an extremely good year in Barolo. If you have the chance to try
the ‘'E.Pira&Pira Cannubi 2000'' (magnum) you will understand why this
estate holds such a reputation. It has a characteristic ruby red color with
orange rim. The wine is nicely balanced, full-bodied, complex and has a
magnificent aftertaste! It possesses aromas of forest floor, leather, tobacco,
coffee, licquorice, mint and orange. Wines of higher quality than this are not
easily found.
It is a great combination of the best of both worlds that takes place at E.Pira & Pira. You have some of the old-fashioned techniques still in use, paired with the visions of Chiara Boschis, who are driving this estate nowadays.
