The 1996 Barolo Riserva La Rocca e La Pira opens with a lively dark ruby color and a compelling, balsamic nose with well-articulated notes of roses, violets and licorice. Two bottles were tasted, the first showing plenty of dark fruit on a classic, structured frame with great length and notable purity in a powerful expression of the vintage, while the second doesn’t quite have enough stuffing to fill its ample, structured frame and it comes across as compact and austere. Bottle age may help some, but this is unlikely to ever be an especially generous style of Barolo. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. Importer: Louis Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191.