Winemaker Notes
La Poja makes an ideal accompaniment to roasted red meats and game. It is excellent with aged cheeses, and a perfect match with white or black truffles.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 La Poja is the latest bottling of one of Italy's most unique wines. This is a pure expression of the Corvina Veronese variety, the chief component of Amarone wines made according to the appassimento process. La Poja allows this finicky grape to sing solo with some 20 months in new barrique followed by eight months in the bottle. The results are outstanding with pristine cherry and blackberry followed by spice, leather and tar. For best results, age this wine another four or five years.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the world's most unique red wines, the sharply defined 2010 Allegrini La Poja (made from 100% Corvina Veronese) is by all means a serious wine. Made for real wine aficionados, this one shows black fruit, savory herbs and wild vegetation in the nose, not made for novices this is real wine lover's aroma; kind of reminds me of Bordeaux but it is pretty different and certainly not the same grapes, yet I would easily substitute this wine in any fine Cabernet pairing situation; medium bodied, and stately on the palate; dry, fine acidity, well balanced; savory herbs and spices with black fruit tar and earth in the flavors; loaded with fine nuances; long finish, tight-knit, upright aftertaste. (Tasted: March 30, 2016, San Francisco, CA USA)
-
James Suckling
There is a very ripe fruit character to this red, with wet earth and hints of cedar and fresh mint. Full-bodied, soft and velvety with a long, tangy finish. Gorgeous wine. A very balanced, reserved style of La Poja.
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.