Olek Bondonio Langhe Nebbiolo

Barbaresco has a habit of producing wines that feel elegant and intellectual at the same time. Olek Bondonio somehow manages to make Nebbiolo feel slightly wild as well, which is a large part of the appeal.

Based in the tiny village of Barbaresco itself, Olek farms organically around Roncagliette, one of the region’s most respected vineyard sites. The wines lean very traditional in philosophy. Long macerations, large old casks and minimal intervention in the cellar without becoming aggressively “natural wine” about the whole thing.

The Nebbiolo carries all the things people fall in love with in Piedmont eventually. Sour cherry, dried rose, orange peel, herbs, tar and firm tannins that somehow feel both severe and graceful at the same time. There’s energy running through the wines though that keeps them from becoming overly stern or museum-like.

What makes Olek particularly exciting is freshness. Even warmer vintages retain lift and precision underneath the structure. The wines evolve beautifully with air too, often shifting from tight and savoury into something much more perfumed and expressive over the course of an evening.

Barbaresco itself often sits slightly overshadowed by Barolo internationally, though many drinkers quietly prefer its elegance and earlier approachability once they spend time with both. Producers like Olek Bondonio make a fairly convincing argument for that position.