ALLEGRINI `La Grola` 2006 The Allegrini family estate comprises 90 hectares of vineyard situated in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. The family has been growing grapes in Valpolicella for several generations, and the estate in its current form was founded by Giovanni Allegrini. When he died 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, while Marilisa is director of marketing. From the 2007 vintage, Franco sacrificed the Classico status of the Valpolicella and bottled the wine under Stelvin in order to eliminate as much as possible the problems of cork taint and random oxidation. La Grola was bought by Allegrini in 1979. It is situated at 310m above sea level. The vineyard covers 30 hectares of southeast facing, welldrained calcareous, stony soils with vines planted from 1979-1992. The vines are double guyot trained with 4200 vines/ha and an average age of 22 years. Yields are 56 hl/ha. The grapes were hand-picked in the first two weeks of October. As the vines are double guyot trained (rather than the traditional Pergola), there was no need for the ripasso technique to be used. The grapes were de-stemmed and crushed, after which fermentation took place between at 20-28°C. Maceration lasted for 9 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 spending a further 2 months in tank before bottling. The wine was then matured in bottle for 11 months before release. 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. Silver Medal - 2008 International Wine Challenge Vintage 2006 Grape varieties 80% Corvina Veronese 20% Syrah Region Fumane Winemaker Franco Allegrini Closure Cork Alcohol (ABV) 13.5% Acidity 5.4g/l Residual Sugar 2.5g/l Wine pH 3.5 Bottle Sizes 75cl, 150cl Find this wine at www.winestore.co.uk Price: £113.39 (Including VAT at 20%)