Corvina Veronese

The Veneto region of Italy stretches from the sands and boardwalks of Lago Garda, to the hills that envelope Verona, and up to the alpines of the Valdobbiadene. This region over the past couple of centuries has produced a notable collection of red and white wine varietals that were considered solid and dependable, but not overly sophisticated. The white wines were always better than the reds, because it is difficult to make a solid red wine in the northern regions due to the colder climates and slow maturation of the harvest. The development of enterprising and innovative techniques, however, led to some of the most sought after red wines in all of Italy and the world over.

Corvina is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina. It is grown primarily in this Veneto region. Corvina is blended with several other grapes to create the lighter red regional wines Bardolino and Valpolicella that have a mild fruit forward flavor with hints of almond. These wines are composed of blends that include primarily Corvina, but also Rondinella, Molinara (and Rossignola for the latter wine). In Valpolicella, Corvina generally makes up to 70% of the blend. These grapes are all slow maturing and high yielding grape varieties, which is usually an undesirable trait in viticulture. In order to offset that situation, many of these grapes, no matter what wine they will end up in, undergo a drying step on air racks, which is referred to as “recioto”, which concentrates the good traits of the grape, while ridding it of excess moisture, which can dilute the character of the final product. Very notable is that Corvina is used as the primary grape in the production of Amarone which really made the recioto style famous.

Allegrini - Palazzo della Torre 2005, Veronese ($20)

Some of the best of use of Corvina Veronese is evident in the wines of Allegrini, a family-run estate that has been turning soil here in this Northeastern corner of Italy since the 16th century. Mostly renowned around the world as one of the most elite Amarone producers, Allegrini has been influential in pioneering new winemaking techniques while demonstrating the ability to create some showcase wines such as Palazzo della Torre (Corvina Veronese 70%, Rondinella 25%, Sangiovese 5%), La Grola (Corvina Veronese 70%, Rondinella 15%, 10% Syrah, Sangiovese) and La Poja (100% Corvina). These examples leave no doubt that some intense yet elegant wines can be coaxed out of this lush, hilly area in the foothills of the Monti Lessini.

Although this family has been in the business of winemaking for many generations, it was fully modernized and set apart with the work of Giovanni Allegrini, whose innovations and enterprising campaigns for change both within his own winery and in others in the region led to the creation of some legendary wines in the 1960s and 70s. He was one of the first winemakers in the area to focus on strict grape selection and employ new planting and vinification techniques. Today his children, Franco (a winemaker) and Marilisa (the marketing director) run the company and have taken it even further down the road of success.

Allegrini’s ‘Palazzo della Torre’ is usually a very elegant wine, as it is again in 2005. This opulent, silky red is loaded with jammy dried cherries, warm dark chocolate, spices and sweet toasted oak and almond. As noted above, it is a blend of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and a splash of Sangiovese. A portion of the fruit for this wine (30%) is left to air-dry on racks (Amarone-style) until December, when it is fermented and subsequently added to the rest of the wine, which is in turn fermented normally. Clearly, the recioto component gives Palazzo della Torre a perfect level of richness, density and complexity, without the sometimes overly heavy character of an Amarone. An exquisitely balanced wine, and a must buy for those who love the Amarone style, but don’t love the high prices a good Amarone commands.

 89pts (Robert Parker)

Mike Mollica is an independent food & wine journalist for the "Italian American Community News", author and publisher of the blog "Mike's Mostly Food and Wine Blog", and is a blog contributor to VinVillage.com.

Originally written by Mike Mollica on 11-Dec-2009