Olek Bondonio

Whilst the name Olek Bondonio doesn't exactly evoke an Italian setting (his family heritage is Polish) make no mistake, this young rising star of the Barbaresco is very much at home on his 3.5 hectare estate in the Tre Stelle frazione of the commune. The former snowboarding champion has served a long apprenticeship in his own vines, patiently working by himself and learning the character of each site. And while we're speaking about sites Bondonio is blessed with some of the better crus including Straderi, Roncaglie and Roncaglietta (he makes the only wine form this vineyard apart form Gaja but theirs is labelled as Sori Tilden), meaning he has brilliant material to work with to make his pure and traditional interpretations of the genre. All fermentation is in cement tanks and maturation takes place in Slavonian botte. Olek is a new (his first vintage was only in 2005) but he is a name to watch and his wine combine traditional styling without killing off the fruit. PWS