Pira Luigi Di Gianpaolo Pira, Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) 2009

This wine always seems to be among the darkest, most intense, and most ruggedly structured Barolo bottlings, and the rendition from 2009 is hardly an exception.  Brooding black fruit is bolstered by notable but subtle oak, with no hint of over-ripeness.  Most 2009s are so accessible that they’ll hit their peak before their comparable bottlings from 2006, but this is one that you should simply forget about for a full decade.