Wine Spectator has always had great taste, having awarded more than 60 Allegrini wines with 90+ points in blind tastings. The April edition with a smiling and vibrant Marilisa Allegrini on the cover is no exception to the magazine’s fine palate. The 9-page feature delves into the family’s history in Verona, road to great wines, and the unstoppable, albeit difficult, sibling dynamic between Marilisa and her brother Franco Allegrini.
Marilisa joined the family company late, at age 26. A dreamer hoping to travel the world, she wanted to be a doctor but switched gears to steer Allegrini on the international scene. After her father’s death, Marilisa came to America and visited restaurants and stores on the east coast – New York, Boston and Chicago – to sell wine. Her presence in storefronts in the 1980s and commitment to pleasing customers boosted production at home for her brothers, the late Walter and Franco.
Unlike his sister, Franco has always loved the winemaking process, focusing on keeping vine leaves perfectly healthy and limiting contamination from molds. With his brother, he identified a fungus creating oxidative character in Amarones – a huge win for increasing the quality of Allegrini wines. Franco led the effort to build a modern drying facility center that monitors grapes.
PDT was always a crowd pleasing wine, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be better. In 1990, Franco adapted the traditional ripasso technique with a second fermentation with the addition of raisined grapes that had been set aside to partially dry. This led to a lusher Palazzo della Torre that has since appeared in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 six times.
In the early 2000s, the family decided to expand their portfolio with other regional wines. They chose Bolgheri in coastal Tuscany, and out of it came Bolgheri Superiore Dedicato a Walter (dedicated to the late Walter Allegrini), Sondraia, and Vermentino Toscano Solosole. The approachable Solosole has been a commercial success since its first vintage, with 3,000 cases imported of the 2015.
While Marilisa travels the world and entertains tastings at glamorous places such as New York’s Guggenheim Museum, Franco stays home working the land and fashioning elegant award-winning wines. “My sister thinks that the most important part of wine is business. I think the most important part is vines,” he told Wine Spectator.
Pick up the latest copy of Wine Spectator to find out more about the market superstar wine PDT, the move from Verona, and the fiery brother-and-sister duo behind the Allegrini winemaking empire.
ALLEGRINI VALPOLICELLA
90pts James Suckling 2015 vin.
Allegrini’s Valpolicella “normale” is made from a crafty mix of fruit from different family owned hillside sites in the classico zone. Each site contributes different components that merge together to forge a pleasing and harmonious blend. Not your average entry Valpolicella, this perky red wine can be dangerously habit forming.
ALLEGRINI PALAZZO DELLA TORRE Veronese IGT
90pts James Suckling 2015 vin.
“PDT” is made from grapes that come from an impressive single vineyard surrounding the family’s Villa Della Torre castle in Fumane in the middle of the classico zone. It’s a blend of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Sangiovese. Six times Palazzo Della Torre has been recognized by Wine Spectator as one of the top 100 wines of the year. Already a classic, Allegrini’s superstar Palazzo Della Torre is on its way to becoming a legend, at least in our world. It can do the same in yours.
ALLEGRINI LA GROLA
90pts James Suckling 2015 vin.
(The Raven) Veronese IGT – This is a single vineyard IGT blend of 90% Corvina and 10% Oseleta made from hand picked grapes grown in chalk rich hillside soils. Legend has it this site is the birthplace of Corvina, Valpolicella’s leading grape varietal. We may never know for sure about that, but one thing we do know is this wine is the bomb. Given the exacting winemaking protocol, this is no surprise. Meticulously gentle handling, relentless temperature controls and sixteen months barrique aging all contribute to making this a truly memorable wine. Conceptually, this is Allegrini’s “Premier Cru” selection.
ALLEGRINI LA POJA
90pts James Suckling 2015 vin.
(The Kite) Veronese IGT – This single vineyard mono-varietal wine (100% Corvina) is the estate’s “Grand Cru” expression made from grapes grown in a tiny 3-hectare plot at the top of the famed hill La Grola. The grapes grow in parse soils with active limestone and high mineral content, a combination particularly suitable for structured wines with aging potential. Grape yields are on the low side but flavor concentration is impressively high.
ALLEGRINI Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC
90pts James Suckling 2015 vin.
Allegrini makes a carefully calculated style of Amarone based on superior quality grapes grown in critically chosen sites and processed with technologically advanced protocols using state of the art equipment, particularly grape drying wind machines. It’s a completely dry blend of 80% Corvina, 15% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta. As the Amarone category continues to evolve, the best versions have started to put considerable distance between themselves and “the pack.” As usual, Allegrini is leading the way.
