Winemaker Notes
This is a full-bodied, intense and elegant wine. Deep ruby red in color, it has a very broad bouquet that ranges from the typical scents of red berries to juniper, with final notes of tobacco and coffee. The excellent exposure of the vineyards, which enjoy good sunshine and almost constant breezes, allows the grapes to express their highest potential. Skillful ageing in the cellar yields a very elegant and harmonious red that is refined and capable of evolving positively for over a decade.
La Grola is excellent paired with red meat dishes, whether roasted or with dark sauces, and especially lamb and kid. It is also delicious with stewed or grilled mushrooms and with mild and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 90% Corvina with 10% Oseleta, the Allegrini 2018 La Grola shows medium dark intensity with lots of smoky overlays, including tobacco and campfire ash. At the core of the wine is a healthy dose of ripe blackberry and plum. The wine offers the power and textural fiber to pair with a classic steak in creamy mushroom sauce.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made with 90% Corvina and 10% Oseleta, this offers aromas of cassis, baking spice and new leather. The sleek, balanced palate features ripe blackberry, tobacco and black pepper alongside fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant, medium-to full-bodied version. This red is fresh and focused, with creamy flavors of baked black plum and black cherry fruit underscored by rich hints of fig cake, espresso, bay leaf and spice. Light tannins show on the iron-laced finish. Corvina and Oseleta. Drink now through 2030. 15,000 cases made, 650 cases imported.
The chief variety in Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella of the Veneto region of Italy, Corvina contributes intense red cherry and blackberry along with a touch of tartness and tannins to the blend. It is especially well suited to the drying process required to make Amarone. Corvina is also the main grape variety in Bardolino, a light red from the southeastern side of Lake Garda, also in Veneto. Somm Secret—Because of the dark and almost black coloring of its grape berries, Corvina takes its name from the Italian word, corvo, a local, jet-black raven.
Producing every style of wine and with great success, the Veneto is one of the most multi-faceted wine regions of Italy.
Veneto's appellation called Valpolicella (meaning “valley of cellars” in Italian) is a series of north to south valleys and is the source of the region’s best red wine with the same name. Valpolicella—the wine—is juicy, spicy, tart and packed full of red cherry flavors. Corvina makes up the backbone of the blend with Rondinella, Molinara, Croatina and others playing supporting roles. Amarone, a dry red, and Recioto, a sweet wine, follow the same blending patterns but are made from grapes left to dry for a few months before pressing. The drying process results in intense, full-bodied, heady and often, quite cerebral wines.
Soave, based on the indigenous Garganega grape, is the famous white here—made ultra popular in the 1970s at a time when quantity was more important than quality. Today one can find great values on whites from Soave, making it a perfect choice as an everyday sipper! But the more recent local, increased focus on low yields and high quality winemaking in the original Soave zone, now called Soave Classico, gives the real gems of the area. A fine Soave Classico will exhibit a round palate full of flavors such as ripe pear, yellow peach, melon or orange zest and have smoky and floral aromas and a sapid, fresh, mineral-driven finish.
Much of Italy’s Pinot grigio hails from the Veneto, where the crisp and refreshing style is easy to maintain; the ultra-popular sparkling wine, Prosecco, comes from here as well.