Allegrini
Dateline: 08/28/97
THE ALLEGRINI FAMILY is synonymous with
Valpolicella: they've been making wine in the region
for generations. They own 45 hectares (about 120 acres) of vineyards, which are
located in the townships of Fumane, Sant'Ambrogio and Marano. Some are used for
the production of crus, such as La Poja, while others provide the grapes for
the more basic wines.
The traditional Valpolicellan red wines are made from Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara, red grapes that are relatively tannin-free. This is fine for Valpolicella Classico, the basic yearly wine, but less so for wines destined to be served at more important occasions. To correct this deficiency, the winemakers of the region traditionally employed the ripasso technique, macerating the new Valpolicella wine on the skins and seeds left over from the fermentation of the previous year's Reicioto so as to extract their tannins. In addition to providing tannins, the ripasso technique provides the wine with a distinctive, pleasant spicy-licoricy tang. More recently barriques have been used as well to add tannins, and though their tannins differ tremendously from those acquired through the ripasso technique, if the two types of tannins are carefully balanced the result can be quite pleasing.
The Allegrini family does a very fine job. I tasted seven of their wines at Vinitaly:
- Valpolicella Classico 1996.. Fermented in steel, and
bottled in January. A deep purple red, with hints of cranberries and vinosity
on the nose. On the palate it has good fruit and is clean, with nice balance,
and light, well rounded tannins (no ripasso). The finish is pleasant, with
notes of cherry. A light wine ideally suited to a simple meal.
- Valpolicella Classico Superiore Palazzo
della Torre 1994. The wine undergoes the ripasso technique and
spends 18 months in barriques. It is a dark pigeon blood ruby red, and has an
elegant bouquet, with notes of dried cherries, spice (from both barriques and
skins) and warmth. There's not much licorice, and this is because the
Allegrinis are experimenting with a variation on the ripasso technique
-- rather than use seeds and skins from the Reicioto, they add
raisins to the freshly fermented wine. These raisins ferment too, adding
complexities and nuances to the wine, but not that distinctive tang. On the
palate it is warm and full, with gently rounded tannins and nice fruit. The
finish is pleasing and enveloping -- in all, a fine wine, which will go very
well with roasts, game, and involved stews such as pastissada de ceval (as will Allegrini's
other Valpolicella Classico Superiores).
- Valpolicella Classico Superiore La Grola 1994. The
wine also has a small amount of Sangiovese in it, and does not undergo the
ripasso technique, though it does spend time in barriques. It is a deep
purplish red, darker than the Palazzo della Torre, and has an elegant bouquet
that was still slightly closed, though nice notes of cherry and berry fruit did
shine through, together with well balanced influences from the wood. On the
palate the wine is very well rounded and extremely smooth, with nice fruit. It
is also full and envelops the tongue, while the Sangiovese makes its presence
known, lightly, in the velvety tannins that emerge on the finish, which is
quite clean.
- Amarone 1991 spent three years in Barriques. It is
an extremely dark purplish red, and has an extraordinarily complex vinous
bouquet laced with stewed cherries and licorice, with notes of hot brick that
bring to mind a summer afternoon. This is a wine one could easily sniff for an
evening and not get bored. Not that one would want to just sniff it; on the
palate it is lusciously full and warm, with all-enveloping fruit, chewy velvety
tannins, and an extraordinarily long finish. Amarone goes well with complex,
involved meat dishes, and even better with cheeses, especially aged or piquant
cheeses.
- Reicioto 1993 is pigeon blood red with purple
highlights, and pours like ink. Its bouquet is intriguing, with sweet cherries
and lush fruit laced with licorice and spice from the ripasso. On the
palate it is sweet (Reicioto is supposed to be), and has a peppery spiciness
(again from the ripasso) that gives way to complex fruit flavors. The
tannins are quite well rounded, and the finish is long. Reicioto is excellent
as a dessert wine, and will also go well with dried fruits or piquant cheeses
such as Gorgonzola (it's one of the few wines that does).
- Reicioto Superiore Giovanni Allegrini is also
extremely dark. It has an intense, very clean bouquet, with sweet fruity aromas
especially cherries, tempered by wood. On the palate it's very fine, though the
tannins still stand out faintly -- they won't in a year or two -- and has
incredibly intense dried fruit flavors. This was certainly one of the best
wines I tasted at Vinitaly, the sort of rare treasure that's perfect on a
winter evening, with good company (or a great book) in front of a fire.
- La Poja is Allegrini's flagship wine, a 100% Corvina-based table wine aged in barriques. It's a very dense dark red, and has an extremely complex bouquet laced with currents, stewed maraschino cherries, wood, and spice. On the palate it is immense, well balanced, and has nice fruit, with lush well rounded tannins and a silky finish blessed with licoricey overtones. A fine wine that will go well with red meats, roasts, game, or complex stews such as pastissada de ceval.
Good Food & Drink,
Kyle Phillips
The addition of dried grapes to the must may be new
to the Valpolicella area, but is not to Tuscany, where winemakers traditionally
added either dried grapes or concentrated must to the newly fermented wine in
November, to make it more lively and help it mature sooner. The technique,
which is called Governo alla Toscana, is now only used to make quaffing
wines destined to be drunk within a couple of years of the harvest.
Back
up.
