Allegrini La Poja, IGT 2016 - 75cl

La Poja is the wine that proved Corvina could stand on its own. Allegrini bottles it from a single 2.65-hectare parcel at the very top of the La Grola hill at Sant'Ambrogio, in the Valpolicella Classico country west of Verona, and it is one of the few serious reds made entirely from the grape usually blended into Valpolicella and Amarone. There is no drying of the fruit here, no appassimento; this is straight Corvina from a limestone-rich site, and the wine carries the appellation as an IGT rather than a DOC because it steps outside the local blending rules.

The 2016 is a fine vintage, and it shows. The nose moves from blackcurrant and morello cherry into liquorice, smoky tobacco, a lick of vanilla and a floral top note. Full-bodied and tightly built, the palate runs through spiced blueberry, dark cherry and black pepper, with cocoa and clove adding a savoury turn. The tannins are dense but graceful, the acidity firm and well knit, and it finishes long on a note of bitter dark chocolate. This has the frame to develop for a decade or more; give it time or give it air.

How to Serve

Pour at 17-18C in a large Bordeaux glass. A young bottle wants a full hour in the decanter to unwind.

Where to Drink It

The River Cafe, Hammersmith - Italian cooking with the weight to match it.
Scott's, Mayfair - if you are treating the bottle as the occasion.
Bocca di Lupo, Soho - regional Italian plates that give it room.

Food Pairings

Pair it with a slow-braised beef shin, the depth of the reduction meeting the wine's dark, spiced core.