E. PIRA & FIGLI CHIARA BOSCHIS MOSCONI BAROLO 2017

The winery is situated in the town of Barolo and the winery faces the Piazza del Peso, Where via Monforte e la via Vittorio Veneto (so-called Via Nuova) meet. From here, looking to the hills, one can understand the amount of work that is necessary to transform the looked after gardens of town to the steep hillside vineyards that are neccessary to obtain grapes of grand quality. Chiara now has eleven hectares of vines under cultivation in the communes of Barolo, Serralunga and Monforte d’Alba. She retains the honor of the first female winemaker in the Langhe, and though she came from a family of Barolisti, she braved incredible obstacles in the 1990s to earn that title. She is, by necessity, of unquestionable confidence, determination, patience and charm. She ran the estate essentially by herself for twenty years, but after the sale of Borgogno in 2008, her brother Giorgio became a free agent. In 2010, he, his wife Daniella and their three daughters joined Chiara at E. Pira, which provided not only a welcome division of labor, but also a next generation of female successors: Beatrice, Elena and Vittoria Boschis, Giorgio and Daniella’s daughters, are already enjoying their experiences at the “new” family winery!

A close friend of Chiara had been working in the Mosconi cru for some years: the late Domenico Clerico sourced his Percristina Barolo from this Monforte vineyard; so when she heard of an old vines parcel becoming available there, she leapt at the chance. It was her first foray outside of the town of Barolo, and it immediately provided a point of contrast to her Cannubi—deep, dark colors, rich structure, and power all emanate from her Barolo Mosconi—which helps to shine a light on the elegance and perfume of her Cannubi. From 3 hectares at 400 meters above sea level, annual average production is about 800 cases.