2003 Pira, Enrico e Figli - Barolo Cannubi Nebbiolo - Italy - Piedmont - Barolo - Red

($90) Dark inky-red. Rich, almost overripe aromas of red cherry, spicy plum, menthol, camphor and mint on the highly aromatic nose, with a pretty mineral quality adding complexity. Very sweet and soft on entry, then turns hard in the middle, with the tightly wound fruit flavors emerging with difficulty from the harsh tannins, a good chunk of which are wood-derived. A beneficial late August rainfall helped the Cannubi vineyard produce some amazing results in this hot drought year. Unfortunately, this wine's very pretty and pure fruit flavors were far more apparent when tasted from the barrel the summer before bottling-perhaps a case of too much oak.