Allegrini La Grola, Veronese IGT, 2001

Blend: 70% Corvina Veronese, 15% Rondinella, 10% Syrah and 5% Sangiovese, aged in French barriques for 16 months.

About the style: Valpolicella is the second wine of Italy in terms of production. The Valpolicella DOC vineyards lie east to west, north of Verona. Basic Valpolicella can be very bland stuff, sourced from overcropped vineyards on the valley floors. Valpolicella Classico DOC comes from better sites on hillsides. Notably, one of the great wine styles of the region, and indeed of Italy, is the Amarone della Valpolicella, originating from the same area, and produced entirely from semi-dried grapes, fermented all the way through into a dry wine with great body, very distinctive aroma and a delightfully bitter finish.

The wine I am reviewing here, however, is a Veronese IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), a category that allows the use of more grape varieties and in different proportions from those allowed by the stricter Valpolicella DOC rules. DOC Valpolicella must include Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella in the blend and no 'foreign' varieties. The addition of Syrah and Sangiovese to this blend obviously breaks the mold. More on why, below.

The Producer: Allegrini is one of the most renowned producers in the region. The Allegrini family has been in Valpolicella for centuries. Giovanni Allegrini was the force that modernized Allegrini in the 60's and 70's by objectively analyzing quality and technical standards and changing standard practice where necessary. After his premature passing in the early 80's his three children, Walter, Franco and Marilisa took over the company. Under their management Allegrini continued to improve the quality of their wines. When they felt too constrained by DOC legislation, they opted to 'drop out' of the system and produce wines under the Veronese IGT category, something like the famous "Super Tuscans," deciding which grapes were best to achieve the best blend, not necessarily following tradition.

First taste, right after opening.

Sight: Purple core with ruby-red rim.

Nose: Black cherry, hints of sweeter brambly berries on the fringes, but feels closed.

Taste: Fine tannins, medium acidity. Feels elegant, but just like the nose, not much going on yet.

Second taste, after an hour in the decanter.

Sight: Same.

Nose: Not much going on yet. Caught a hint or two of softer, brambly fruit, but nothing particularly strong. It's not that the wine is subtle, it's just muted.

Taste: Softer in the mouth, showing nice brambly red fruit flavors. Not much of a finish, but more pleasant than before.

Third taste, after another hour:

Sight: Same.

Nose: Starting to open up after all this time. Shows riper fruit, plumper fruit, and mineral lift.

Taste: Spicy and smooth. Very concentrated flavor and thick texture.

Overall: Disappointing. The wine never really came into its own. I actually tasted a second bottle to see if maybe I had gotten a bad one, but the results were the same. The La Grola is their most basic bottlling, so I will try to get a hold of their higher end blends and taste that to compare.