E. Pira

Year in, year out Chiara Boschis quietly makes some of the most compelling wines in Barolo with out getting the attention or recognition of some of her neighbors. ANTONIO GALLONI There are few producers on the planet I admire so much as Chiara Boschis. Her unswerving drive to quality since taking over the old Pira estate some 25-plus years ago, coupled with her boundless enthusiasm and inextinguishable sense of enquiry are inspirational. Into the bargain of course the wines are some of the greatest made in the Langhe hills.

Part of her success of course lies with the remarkable raw materials she has to work with; the Cannubi vineyard, which is one of the great plots in the Langhe hills. She also works almost solo (although her brother and sister-in-law have joined here recently) preferring to be involved in every step of the process rather than delegate to others. In this way she is able to ensure consistent quality in poor years like 2002. This year the injection of funds from the sale of the family business (Borgogno) has enabled Chiara and family to buy some key vineyard sites in both Monforte (Mosconi and Ravera) and Serralunga (Ceretta). In future the Via Nuova bottling will morph (along with Ravera and Ceretta) into a Barolo DOCG bottling leaving the Cannubi and Mosconi as the only two single-vineyard crus. The styling has changed a little over the years and now larger cask is part of the equation for Via Nuova and Cannubi. Brilliant. PWS