Roagna’s Barolo Pira 2020 is a Nebbiolo from the Pira vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, a site the family purchased in 1989 and has labeled “Pira” since the 2009 vintage under updated Barolo rules. The estate is known for traditional methods—long macerations and aging in large, neutral oak—aimed at structure and longevity, and the 2020 Pira reads very much in that vein.

The best reviews for this wine are unequivocally strong. Wine Spectator’s 96-point note calls it “like a laser,” citing “cherry, cranberry, rose hip, menthol and mineral flavors,” and praising its “harmony, complexity and length,” with “an aftertaste that just keeps coming.” It’s also one of the few notes with hard facts: “856 cases made, 180 cases imported,” and a drinking window of 2029–2047—an excellent review that frames Pira 2020 as both serious and cellar-worthy.

James Suckling also awards 96 points, describing “a restrained and austere Barolo” built around “embers, graphite, dried cherries, red currants, potpourri and earthy minerality,” with “firm, thick and velvety tannins” and a “savory, refreshing, lifted yet precise finish.” That language underscores a wine that prioritizes line and grip over immediate sweetness.

At 95 points, Vinous characterizes the wine as “powerful” and “tightly wound,” layering “dried herbs, incense, licorice, tobacco and crushed autumn leaves,” while noting it “starts open with a bit of coaxing” and that “the tannins are insistent, but also polished”—a clear suggestion to decant or, better, wait.

Kerin O’Keefe (95) finds “extreme class and finesse,” with red-fruited precision—“cranberry, tart red cherry, bitter orange”—and a finishing “salty mineral note,” supported by “lithe, glossy tannins.” Taken together, Pira 2020 looks like a classic, structured Barolo with aromatic complexity, polished authority, and the patience to reward time.