Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

The Allegrini family estate covers 120 hectares of vineyard in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. The family has been growing grapes here for six generations, but the estate in its current form was founded by Giovanni Allegrini. When he passed away in 1983, it 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.

Amarone is the result of Allegrini's skill in creating a modern wine with a strong connection to tradition. Sourced from Classico area hillside vineyards, grapes are dried for a rich, powerful wine with characteristic dried cherry aromas and a tremendous structure.

Corvina, Corvinone, Oseleta, Rondinella

The Allegrini family's south-east facing vineyards are located in the Valpolicella Classico hills at 450-520 metres above sea level. The varied soils are mostly chalk and clay of volcanic origin, which are well-draining. The vines are Guyot-trained and 37 years old on average, planted with about 5,000 vines per hectare.

Overall, the 2019 vintage was characterised by a very mild winter. Temperatures only hit below 0°C for a few nights in January, whilst peaks of 10°C were recorded both in early December and in early January. This allowed the soils to still be 'workable' so vineyard managers took the opportunity to aerate the soils with some superficial subsoil tilling. There was very little rainfall in March and April which greatly reduced risks of mildew damage. In May however, rainfall came and temperatures dropped very low. This changed the growth-cycle of all plants in the area. This was followed by a cool, dry summer, which is why one can expect wines from this vintage to have finesse and elegance.

45% Corvina, 45% Corvinone, 5% Oseleta, 5% Rondinella

The grapes were hand harvested in late September, and dried over three to four months using the traditional Appassimento process, during which they lost 40-45% of their original weight. Vinification took place in the first two weeks of January. The dried grapes were destemmed, crushed and fermented in stainless-steel tanks at temperatures between 8-22ºC. Maceration lasted 25 days, with daily pumping over. The wine was racked into 100% new oak barriques (225 litres) in March for 18 months. After blending, it spent seven months in bottle.

A classic expression of the appellation, with intense aromas of ripe, dark fruit and spice. The wine shows powerful structure and depth, superb balance with refined tannins and a long finish.