Allegrini, Palazzo della Torre 2020

Franco Allegrini used the modern version of the traditional 'ripasso' technique for Palazzo della Torre, drying a proportion of the grapes in the 'Terre di Fumane' drying centre, to intensify the character of this vineyard. The grapes that were dried were hand picked during September, and the grapes vinified immediately were picked at the end of the month. 70% of the grapes picked were vinified immediately and 30% were left to dry until the second half of December when they were vinified and then refermented with the wine from the fresh grapes. The wine spent 15 months in second-use barriques, and was blended together for two months, then aged for a further seven months in bottle.

The Allegrini family estate covers 120 hectares of vineyard in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. Although they have been growing grapes here for several centuries, Giovanni Allegrini was the first to start bottling wines from the family's vineyards. When he died in 1983, he passed a passion for and a commitment to quality wine onto his three children - Walter, Marilisa and Franco. They worked together to build on Giovanni's quality ethos until Walter's death in 2003. Franco now looks after the vineyards and the winemaking, while Marilisa takes charge of sales and marketing. From the 2007 vintage, Franco sacrificed the Classico status of the Valpolicella and bottled the wine under Stelvin to eliminate cork taint and random oxidation problems as much as possible.