OLEK BONDONIO
Langhe Rosso Giulietta 2021
Piedmont, Italy
Pelaverga is Piedmont’s answer to Pineau d’Aunis, a light, bright and fragrant variety with plenty of charm. The majority of the fruit here comes from Olek’s Roncagliette vineyard in Barbaresco which is blessed with a southern exposure and firm clay-limestone soils. This spends a couple of weeks on skins, before being pressed off to rest for a year in tank. This pairs classic notes of strawberries and spice with fine tannins thanks to the pedigree of the site.
Pelaverga
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Olek Bondonio has become one of the most sought after names in Barbaresco.
Olek grew up in the family’s farmhouse, ‘La Berchialla’, which sits amongst Barbaresco’s most famous crus and has been in his family for several centuries. After conquering Italy as a professional snowboarder, he turned his mind to wine, working in the Langhe and also abroad before returning home to look after the family’s vineyards.
Olek is lucky enough to work with some of the very best sites in Piedmont and does everything he can to make sure each wine speaks of this wonderful place. Today he farms close to seven hectares of vines, split up between Barbaresco’s Roncagliette and Starderi crus as well as parcels in Altavilla, Neive and Catagnole delle Lanze, and a famous vineyard high in the hills above Alba. Most recently, he has rented a small parcel of old vines in Verduno, from which he will produce his first Barolo, ‘San Lorenzo’.
In the vines, Olek works organically and with a real hands on approach, whilst in the cantina he works without fuss, exhibiting a patience beyond his years. The results are pure, deep and decidedly old school expressions of Piedmont’s local grapes.