Bright ruby in colour with perfumes characteristic of top quality Corvina – bitter cherries and a twist of raspberry. On the palate it has bright, lively fruit with good intensity of ripe, summer berries offset by a hint of liquorice from the Syrah. Long and elegant on the finish.
The grapes were hand harvested during the first 10 days in October and because the vines are double guyot trained (rather than the traditional Pergola), there is no need for the ripasso technique to be used. The grapes were de-stemmed and crushed, after which fermentation took place at 22-30°C. The grapes were macerated for 10 days during which pumping over took place daily. Malolactic fermentation took place in December. The wine was then racked into oak where it matured for 16 months before bottling. The wine was then matured in bottle for 10 months before release.
The Allegrini family estate encompasses 70 hectares of vineyard situated in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. The Allegrini family have been growing grapes in Valpolicella for several generations, though the estate in its current form was founded by Giovanni Allegrini. When he died in 1983, the estate passed to his three children who ran it together until Walter’s death in July 2003. Franco now looks after the vineyards and is the winemaker, and Marilisa is director of marketing.
The La Grola vineyard, bought by Allegrini in 1979, is located in Podere La Grola, Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella at 310 m above sea level. The vineyard comprises 30 hectares that are southeast facing and were planted between 1979-1992. They are planted on mostly well-drained calcareous, and stony soils. Double Guyot trained vines with about 4200 vines per hectare and the average age of the vines is 22 years. The yield is 56 HI/Ha.