wine Archives - Page 18 of 34 - Wojciech BońkowskiWojciech Bońkowski

2008 Barbaresco: surprises

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 5. Concluding my tasting of 2008 Barbaresco. Some really good wines, and why terroir is important.

Barolo 2001: a great vintage

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 4. Taking a break from 2008s and 2007s I taste 60 different Barolos from 2001. It is certainly a great vintage for the king of Italian wines.

Nebbiolo Prima 2011, day 1: improving Roero

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 3. Tasting through 2008 Roero and 2008 Barbaresco. At this stage, looks like a challenging vintage: high tannins and acids but low fruit.

Amazing Arneis

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 2. Arneis is usually a light commercial wine. In an amazing tasting at Angelo Negro we taste serious Arneis back to 2001.

Nebbiolo Prima 2011: a good start

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 1. Starting the week slowly with some delicious local food and the best wine to match: white Arneis. The best Arneis is currently made by Ghiomo, a small winery in Guarene.

My life with Pio Cesare

I never really liked the wines of Pio Cesare upon release, in their youth. Recent tastings have instilled a doubt in my mind. So I put Pio Cesare to the 10-year test.

Bruno Trapan: rising star

I’m in Croatia again. Visiting Bruno Trapan, one of the country’s undisputed stars after just 5 vintages of making wine. His 2010 Malvazija is an electrifying bottle.

In Portugal (7): Vale Dona Maria: First among equals

Blogging from the Douro valley, part 6. My favourite red Douro wine has long been Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, and I visit the winery to find out why it’s so good. The answer?

Marcel Richaud Cairanne 2000

One of those days when everything just goes fine. Including this stunning bottle of 11-year-old Côtes du Rhône. Worth three times its price.

In Portugal (6): Vallado: Leaps and bounds

Blogging from the Douro valley, part 5. I stay at the 18th-century Quinta do Vallado where owner Francisco Ferreira and winemaker Xito Olazabal have been making qualitative leaps and bounds.