A full bodied, intense and elegant wine. Dark ruby red in colour, it has a wide, embracing bouquet with notes of wild berries, juniper, tobacco and coffee essence. The high plant density and resulting low yields give this wine its unique concentration.

The Allegrini family estate covers 100 hectares of vineyard in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area. The family has been growing grapes here for six generations, but 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, and Marilisa is director of marketing.

La Grola was bought by Allegrini in 1979. It is situated 310 metres above sea level. The 30 hectare vineyard has a south-easterly aspect, well-drained calcareous and clay soils and vines planted from 1979-1998. The vines are double Guyot trained at a density of 4,240 vines per hectare and have an average age of 25 years.

Overall, the 2019 vintage was characterised by a mild winter. Temperatures rarely fell below 0°C in January, while peaks of 10°C were recorded both in early December and in early January. It was therefore still possible to work the soils, which were aerated with some superficial subsoil tilling. Between the end of March and the beginning of April, temperatures settled above 10°C and the vine’s new vegetative cycle began. The absence of significant rainfall during budding reduced the impact of mildew. Things changed abruptly in May with the advent of considerable wet weather and winter-like temperatures, which remained below average over the summer. The fully ripe and healthy grapes were picked between mid-September and mid-October, in line with a more ‘classic’ harvest schedule.

The grapes were harvested in the second half of September, followed by de-stemming and crushing. Fermentation took place at temperatures between 20-28°C. Maceration lasted for 15 days during which pumping over took place daily. Malolactic fermentation took place naturally in October. The wine was then racked into oak where it matured for 16 months before being blended and spending a further two months in tank before bottling. The wine was then matured in bottle for ten months before release.