Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019  £78.92

Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019

 The Allegrini Family’s history can be traced back to as early as the 16th century when the first generation of the family planted vines in the areas of Fumane and Valpolicella in Italy. Today, they are the most reputed and recognised wine families in the Italian countryside.

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.

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.

93pts RobertParker.com

The Allegrini 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico reverts to a classic profile for air-dried fruit made with appassimento. There are distant whiffs of candied cherry that give more lift and intensity to the bouquet that is otherwise characterized by heavier tones of black fruit, candied cherry, red licorice and sweet earth or potting soil. It finishes with a well-balanced full-bodied style (and a noticeable 16% alcohol content). The traditional blend is 45% Corvina Veronese, 45% Corvinone, 5% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta, and 100,000 bottles were released.

Monica Larner