Wojciech Bońkowski
Master of Wine

G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2007

Had Barolo with fried chicken yesterday. Actually a pretty good match.

Cappellano: amazing depth

(Almost) Live blogging from Piedmont, part 18. The Barolos of Augusto Cappellano have a flavour unlike anything else. Sure, some of his vines are ungrafted, but it’s not the only secret here.

G. D. Vajra: my favourite Barolos

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 17. Aldo, Milena and Giuseppe Vaira make wines to die for.

Bartolo Mascarello: tradition goes on

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 16. Bartolo Mascarello is a mythical personage of Italian wine. Today his work is continued by his daughter Maria Teresa, the Queen of Barolo.

Giacomo Conterno: timeless

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 15. I visit Italy’s most legendary wine producer: Giacomo Conterno. These majestic wines have to be tasted to be believed.

Barolo Riserva 2005: a good surprise

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 14. 22 samples of Barolo Riserva from the 2005 vintage showed better than expected. I expected wines low on fruit and high on evolution; the opposite turned out to be true. There are some truly exciting wines. Click to find out the winners.

Brilliance, finally

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 13. Final day of blind tasting. The zestiest, most structured Barolos come from Serralunga d’Alba and this was confirmed today with a series of exciting 2007 wines.

Poderi Colla: history speaks

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 12. I drink a piece of Piedmont history at Poderi Colla, founded by Beppe Colla who pioneered single-vineyard wines in the 1970s. Click to find out how Dolcetto can ever be better than Barbaresco.

Verduno mon amour

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 11. A memorable fringe tasting of Barolos from the town of Verduno. Some delicious wines including an amazingly fresh and fruity 1988.

Blind tasting, day 4: cappuccino Barolo

Live blogging from Piedmont, part 10. The fourth day of blind tasting of newly released 2007 Barolos has been really tough. An ocean of new oak and dry tannins. If you read on the papers that the world is turning towards more elegant, drinkable wines, producers from La Morra apparently don’t read the same papers.