Luigi Pira Barolo Marenca

Decanted 2 hours ahead. Red fruits, flowers, spice on the nose. High toned with beautiful acidity and medium body. Cherry, spice and pretty minerality linger on a long finish. Drinking beautifully now. 93 points.

2008 vintage

Ruby red. Still very dark and primary. Refined palate. Soft red fruit, spice, some balsamic and herbal notes. All very welll integrated and almost certainly at peak. Not the most persistent wine but lovely texture and balance.

2008 vintage

Honeymoon Trip to Piemonte - September '25; 9/1/2025-9/7/2025 : Enjoyed at the Luigi Pira tasting room in Serralunga d'Alba with Tiziana. The 2021 Luigi Pira Vigna Rionda is a powerful Barolo. This comes from 30-year-old vines from the famed Vigna Rionda Cru. Layers upon layers of classic Serralunga fruit unfurl—dark cherry, plum, and a streak of dusty mint, all underpinned by tar, earth, and a firm structure of ripe tannins. The wine’s depth is unmistakable, but the tannins are youthful …

2021 vintage

Festa del Barolo Sydney 2025 (Prince Sydney, 40 Hansard Street) : Medium minus intensity aromas show polished fruit, touch of barrique, sweet spice, a sense of concentration, toast, biscuit. Medium plus intensity acidity, the oak is a little more intrusive on the palate, perhaps time will help but this is oak dominant today.

2021 vintage

Another bottle of this and broadly similar impressions to last time: lovely perfume and fragrance with delicate palate weight. Perhaps missing a tiny bit of complexity to put it into the league best Rionda bottlings (Pira's plot faces fully West, everyone else's faces South), but for the money this is an absurd bargain.

2021 vintage

Fabulous wine. Tasted twice: once in Serralunga where it comfortably bested a 2020 Burlotto Cannubi, and a few weeks later in a wider dinner in London where it was the standout (amongst Sandrone Vigne 15, Trediberri Rocche 19, Chiara Boschis Cannubi 17, Brovia Villero 17, Vajra Viole '19 & Chiara Boschis Mosconi '19). At the £55/€65/$75 price point, this is a very attractive bottle of Barolo

2021 vintage

Väldigt drikvänlig nu skulle inte vänta mycket längre

2012 vintage

Decanted 3 hours initially and tasted over 3 hour period. Light garnet colour in the glass. cherries and plums dominate the nose with hint of spice and pepper. Palate is rich and warm with red fruits, ample tannins as expected - long finish of leather and some tar complementing the fruit elements. Quite a lot of sediment.

2004 vintage

Tricky decant. Vibrant and powerful out of the bottle with lots of fruit AND tannins. 2-3h decant later felt muted, opened up a bit more with food (osso buco) but below expectations after how it felt out of the bottle. Wish id saved a glass for the day after, perhaps needed a much longer decant.

2012 vintage

This smells really nice. Spice, menthol and some other interesting things I can’t identify. All dark, black tones on the palate. Less interesting than the smell. Quite a bit of acid and tannin. More lifted, youthful and energetic than I recall from the last bottle. Hard to say if it will get better, but this should cruise along for many years, I think.

2006 vintage

Dried ad some fresh berries. Decanted for 2 hrs - ready and at its peak.

2008 vintage

Wow nu börjar värkligen denna vakna till liv, fantastisk till tagliata

2012 vintage

Last of these for me, really enjoyed this wine with Pasta with a white Bolognese sauce. Only had time for a quick decant because didn't know what our friends were bringing for dinner but it didn't take long to open up. This is drinking great, probably somewhere near it's peak.

2008 vintage

Subsequent notes on this wine from 7 years ago. Dark garnet in color with ever so slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, plums & blackberries with overtones of dusty/earthy notes & floral notes of roses, tar, herbs, licorice, spices, dark cocoa, minty, tobacco, minerals, leather, balsamic notes & a hint of cedar. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe fruit flavors …

2004 vintage

Somewhat tired

2004 vintage

Modern barolo. Ruby Red, lighter at the rim. amazing aroma, berries, spice. Very structured wine, bright acidity, sweet berries, long finish. Would love to have it again!!!

2008 vintage

No formal notes. Young and still pretty closed. Cherry, underbrush, and smoke on the nose. Super tannic still on the palate. Hold.

2006 vintage

Medium ruby brick red with lightening around the rim. Superb aromas of black cherries and raspberries, dried florals and high-toned spices. Palate shows juicy and sweet crushed berries, hint of chalk, minerals, good acidity and supple tannins on the long floral and spice finish. Great showing for the Marenca.

2008 vintage

Very balanced. Decanted bit needed on hour to fully open up. the cork was intact but very friable. I will enjoy the comparison to the next bottle of this wine that I open

2004 vintage

Denver Wine Tasting Group Barolo night. WoTN, especially the first 3-4 hours. Decanted 30-60 minutes before we got into it, this was ready to go and jumped right out as a wine in its good spot. Lively acidity, tannins in check, lots of vertical structure just made this wine stand out. I believe we had some other descriptors for the aromas but a day later they elude me. It did start to fade around 3-4 hours but still popped along …

2008 vintage

Big bouquet, 14.5% abv, decanted for sediment, tannic but great fruit makes for a great combo, beautiful red color for a wine 16 years old, good balance, drank with my pizza and salad, would drink again but won’t find, a nice example of an aged barolo.

2006 vintage

Black fruits, tar and licorice. Drinking well, but still plenty of fruit and structure to cruise along in the cellar. Enjoyed it.

2006 vintage

This is a great Barolo but still in his youth, a teenager tough. It had a very brilliant garnet red color. A complex nose which is followed by a very intense palate rich of berries, earth, cassis. Tannins are still a bit rough, showing that it could age still 5 to 10 more years and not go through his best times yet. Medium + acidity and great lenght.

2012 vintage

The tannins of youth appear to have faded. After a two hour decant this wine was very approachable. Dark fruit with an edge of tar and coffee. Still time for you to drink up

2012 vintage

On opening, fairly tannic and tight, a little wooden. This note is 48 hours later, and the wine has opened and softened considerably, with plenty of deep, dark, flavorful fruit, still moderately tannic, but doesn’t overwhelm the wine, wood is background, some anise, iron and volcanic rocky notes, quite delicious, if still very young. Hold for another decade, or give it a ton of air.

2008 vintage

spicy dark fruit is right - this is in a great spot but will improve yet - love it

2008 vintage

Decanted two hours before service - large amount of medium-fine sediment in the bottle. In the glass, light auburn at the rim, shading quickly to dark auburn at the core. On the nose, initially a sharp varnish note, but that blew off quickly to reveal a mixture of cherries, musty oak, and tar. On the palate, more of the same, with a welcome sweet note on the mid-palate, followed by some of the driest, most mouth-puckering tannins I think I've …

2004 vintage

‘08 azelia San Rocco : softer, brighter red cherry, silky and round. ‘08 Luigi pira marenca: more tannic, had darker fruit profile, with some licorice and tar. Different styles, I would rate both 92.

2008 vintage

Approachably tannic, dark fruit, licorice and delicious. Wish I had more. Long finish.

2006 vintage

Throwing lots of sediment now. Opened for a couple of hours before dinner and it was great. The nose is very much wild spice the palate is tar and dark fruit. On the second night it was even prettier tasting a bit like port but without the heavy alcohol if that makes any sense.

2004 vintage

Long decant. This was a beauty. Perhaps still on the young side. I was bummed when this was gone.

2004 vintage

Super delicious. Great fruit with a touch of tar on the finish.

2004 vintage

Decanted off very heavy, chunky sediment. Tawny color. Sweet menthol and balsamic aromas are immediate. Brown baking spices. Very slight oxidation which dissipates with breathing. Floral notes in the background and deep aromas of dried figs and dark fruits. Hits the palate with bright balsamic flavors over a backdrop of dark fruits. Cranberry acidity and deep tar inflected fruit. Tannins are solid and broad on the palate. Fully developed flavors. Very good length and balance. This bottle is firing on …

2004 vintage

Do not touch. This was a tannic beast. I will wait 10 years to open my remaining bottle. I look forward to that date, though!

2006 vintage

Dybe mørke kirsebær, ymer, læder og vådt træ på næsen. Syrlig mund med brombær, og god struktur men mangler måske lidt dybde. Støvede (høj) tanniner.

2012 vintage

Fine spicy dark fruit, minerals. Love it!

2008 vintage

Very good indeed, and much better in comparison to the last bottle tasted some years ago. Nice cherry roses and figs Barolo fruit and mature tones of black olives and mushroom. The oak is well integrated, Drinking really well at this stage.

2004 vintage

Loads of dark fruit, tar, gravel, dried herbs and espresso with massive tannins still! This bottle, despite being 15 years old, seems like it was born yesterday. I wish I had more because this would be a treat to try again in 2034. Decades of life left, obviously. This is what I love about Cru Barolo.

2004 vintage

No detailed notes, but drinking very well with great balance. In a sweet spot from from passive cellar.

2004 vintage

Solid. Still has some tannin to lose, but good potential. 5 more seems about right.

2008 vintage

Solid Barolo—most of what I’m looking for out a wine in terms of dark fruit encased in strong gripping tannins and balanced amounts of acid. Medium finish. Many years ahead of it. Pnp At Delfina in SF. Really enjoyable.

2006 vintage

Hyvä Barolo. Jo juotavissa. Sanna ”onpa vahva viini”. Lauantain pihvin ja sunnuntain pizzan kanssa.

2006 vintage

Big, full bodied, round, ample fruit, red cherry, violets/rose, earth. Really enjoyable, glad to have several more.

2006 vintage

The nose did not show much. The palate was ripe, polished, and had firm tannins. Showed florals, but mostly ripe fruit. It worked well with our starters at The Trattoria, but I thought the Bordeaux that followed was better. I probably would have enjoyed it more on its own.

2004 vintage

Dark opaque burgundy. Nose light cinnamon and baking spice, black cherries. Palate sweet red cherries with prominent drying tannins on finish. Seems a bit young/primary and unresolved, but good upside. 92 pts

2004 vintage

Beautiful nose of cherry cola and licorice. Juicy cherry with big tannins and good acidity. Body lacked the depth, but this wine is still so young. Another 5-10 years and I’m sure this would be amazing.

2008 vintage

Decanted for two hours. BlackBerry, dark fruit. Some earthy characteristics. Menthol. Chocolate or cocoa. But was particularly memorable.

2004 vintage

Best with food.

2006 vintage

Great structure. Opens in about 45 minutes with balance of fruit and tannins. I'd bet it will be even better in 5 years,

2008 vintage

Earthy and a bit funky at first but after an hour the fruit starts to come out. Dried red cherry and a red floral component with well balanced acidity. Very food friendly and drinking very well.

2006 vintage

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