Allegrini : La Poja Corvina Veronese 2018

The current vintage, 2018, represents a restyling that takes La Poja in a direction Francesco Allegrini describes as ‘more contemporary’, with gentler extraction and less new oak. The result is a wine with a pale Corvina hue, bright fruit and violets, and a hint of wood smoke on the nose. The palate shows great intensity, with tight, fine-grained tannins and juicy acidity. From a vintage with superb potential, this is a La Poja with more length than breadth for now, but it is destined to open up in the mid-term.

Attractive aromas of dark raspberry jam, dried strawberries and figs with hints of dark chocolate, flowers and orange rind. Medium-to full-bodied with very silky tannins and lovely dryness to the mid-palate. Impressive concentration and length, showing a very long, persistent finish with juicy black cherries and bitter chocolate at the end. Nothing sweetish here. Drinkable now, but better after 2023.

The 2018 La Poja opens slowly in the glass as notes of crushed ashen stone and savory herbs give way to crushed cherries and blueberries. This is a decidedly delicate and finessed style. Brisk acidity enlivens its tart wild berry fruits as plum and dark chocolate notes evolve toward the close. The 2018 leaves a coating of fine tannins to linger, finishing with admirable length yet structured. Always a standout, La Poja is a varietal Corvina made entirely from fresh (not dried) grapes.

The Allegrini 2018 Corvina Veronese La Poja (with 14,000 bottles made) delivers plenty of ripe fruit with baked cherry, plum, and earthy notes of wet clay, terracotta, and rusty nail. This vintage lacks some of the extreme clarity and focus that the Corvina grape is very capable of delivering. The growing season saw a cool spring and heat spikes throughout the summer, contributing to the broad range of disparate fruit aromas on offer here.