Bonarda is on the one hand the name of the appellation in Lombardy, which was only created in 2010, but it is also the local synonym for the grape variety Croatina, of which the wines here must consist of at least 85%. It basically produces colourful, rather tart-fruity wines with plenty of tannin, but this does not necessarily mean that you always know what to expect when you open a bottle of Bonarda.
Because the range of maturation types and styles is quite wide. A Bonarda dell'Oltrepò Pavese DOC can be still or more or less sparkling, bone dry and sweet, fresh, crisp and juicy, but also more rustic to peasant, light as well as strong and high in alcohol, many tasting best young, some maturing over years into amazingly serious, complex wines. This is somewhat confusing, but on the other hand there is hardly a personal taste for which a suitable Bonarda cannot be found.
The label, however, often provides insufficient information about what is in the bottle. Although the sparkling versions are usually labelled "frizzante" or "vivace", it is quite possible that a wine without this information will also foam slightly. Information on residual sweetness is usually omitted altogether.
So it doesn't help, you have to taste the wines, at least if you don't want to miss the wonderful bonardas that come in each of these styles. Or you can have them tasted. From us, for example. We had around 80 wines on the table for this BEST OF. As always, we present the best here and as PDF here. Links to all the Bonardas we tasted with detailed descriptions (and thus also information on actual carbonic acid and possible residual sweetness) as well as all the producers can be found here here.
Frizzante
2017
- 87WP "Sommossa", Castello di Luzzano
- 87WP "La Peccatrice", Bisi
- 86+WP "Vigna delle More", Isimbarda
- 86WP "Campo del Monte", F.lli Agnes
- 86WP "Moranda", Travaglino
- 86WP "Fatum 20 febbraio", Francesco Maggi
- 86WP "il Bonarda di Pietro Rossi", Pietro Rossi
- 86WP "Passo Gaio", Cavallotti
- 86WP "Ambrusena", Fratelli Ferrari
- 86WP "Vigiö", Calatroni
- 86WP "I Poderi", Fiamberti
- 85WP F.lli Giorgi
- 85WP "Vigna Il Modello", Monterucco
- 85WP "Dolium", Terre d'Oltrepò
2016
- 88WP "Novecento", Valdamonte
- 88WP "La Fidela", Cà del Gè
- 88WP "Bricco del Prete", Cà del Gè
- 88WP "Vigiö", Calatroni
- 87WP "Bricco della Sacca", Fiamberti
- 87WP "Nido della Tempesta", Bricco dei Roncotti
- 87WP "la briccona bonarda", Fiamberti
- 87WP "La Grangia", Montelio
- 86WP Quvestra
- 86WP "Violino", Paravella
- 86WP "Possessione di Vergombera", Bruno Verdi
- 86WP Rebollini
- 86WP "Zavola", La Travaglina
- 85HP "La Genisia", Torrevilla
- 85HP Ca' Tessitori
- 85HP "Vigna Il Modello", Monterucco
- 85WP "Buccia Rossa", Vigne Olcru
2015
- 85WP "Faravelli", Bosco Longhino
Still wine (especially the younger ones often also slightly carbonated)
- 90WP 2010 "Vigne Vecchie", Gaggiarone
- 90WP 2005 Riserva, Gaggiarone
- 89WP 2013 "Vigne Vecchie", Gaggiarone
- 89WP 2011 "Millenium", F.lli Agnes
- 88WP 2015 "Giubilo", Perego & Perego
- 88WP 2013 "Fatila", Vercesi di Castellazzo
- 87WP 2017 "La Bonarda di Calvi", Calvi
- 86WP 2015 Amabile "La Mora", Franco Giorgi
- 86WP 2016 La Costaiola
- 86WP 2015 Bosco Longhino
- 86WP 2016 "Macole", Paravella
- 86WP 2016 "La Cenfrasca
- 86WP 2016 "Storia Contadina", Montini
- 85WP 2015 "La Genisia", Torrevilla
- 85WP 2015 "Senza Solfiti Aggiunti", Bosco Longhino
- 85WP 2016 Mazzolino
- 85WP 2016 Fermo "Castelfelice", Montini
- 85WP 2012 La Marzuola
