What makes a wine an icon? A question that increasingly questions enthusiasts and critics within the world of wine. But it is a question that Italian producers have also recently tried to answer with ever greater determination, convinced of the goodness and uniqueness of their iconic productions, bottles and labels that have nothing to envy of many celebrated great international names. Thus was born an experience outside the usual canons, a blind tasting, a magical vertical in pursuit of the favorite vintage in the glass, to try to understand if one of the most recognized symbols of Valpolicella today can apply to be part of the Olympus of iconic wines. The appointment was in Venice, for two days in the company of La Poja, pure Corvina Veronese. A truly unique tasting took place, led by wine educator and DipWSET Cristina Mercuri and accompanied by brothers Francesco, Giovanni, Matteo Allegrini together with cousin Silvia Allegrini, of seven historic vintages between 1997 and 2018 of this revolutionary label, an opportunity to retrace the history of the Allegrini family and its indissoluble bond with Valpolicella.
What is an iconic wine?
What are the characteristics that make a label an iconic wine? The case of La Poja helps clarify the terms of the question.
The first fundamental element is that there is always a beautiful story to tell about the origins of an iconic wine. La Poja talks about its soil, the climate and the land where it is born: it is a terroir wine that talks about its origins.
Then there is the issue of volumes: an iconic wine is always produced in quantities that rarely speak of large numbers.
The third element is what has been defined as the “Eureka!” moment: when something is created that did not exist before. La Poja was born from 100% pure Corvina Veronese, freed from the cornerstones of drying and the Denomination, a true revolution for the time.
Then, other factors that lead to the definition of an iconic wine are a communication capable of broadening horizons by making itself universal, recognition by the international market and the value that the family to which it belongs recognizes the label within its own production.
Finally, the element on which much is played in the status of a label: time. Because only a wine capable of facing the inexorable march of the passing years, evolving with elegance and over a long period, can aspire to be admitted to the Olympus of iconic wines. This is, then, how the blind tasting proposed by Allegrini in Venice wanted to lead to investigating the boundaries of a wine that aims to transform from a symbol into an icon.
Allegrini: the project A Milestone in Our History
“La Poja”, explains Francesco Allegrini, “is much more than a wine for our family, it is the legacy of my grandfather Giovanni, my father Franco and my uncle Walter. This wine represents their vision and their commitment to promoting the Valpolicella area and the Corvina grape variety. With the A Milestone in Our History project, which my brothers, cousin Silvia and I launched last year, we want to continue to carry forward this legacy, making La Poja and our history known internationally”.
“La Poja – A Milestone in Our History” is in fact the name of the exclusive event that came to life in Venice, on 23 and 24 September, the second stage of a project that has already landed in the heart of London with an extraordinary vertical that marked the debut of a tour of the iconic reference on the main international stages.
An extraordinary opportunity, as mentioned, to retrace the history of the Allegrini family and its indissoluble bond with the territory of origin, of which La Poja represents the maximum expression. But an equally important opportunity for comparison, for the historic reality of Valpolicella that from this 2024 has chosen to write a new chapter of its story, with sommeliers, professionals and international key opinion leaders around the status that the label has achieved today in the Italian and world wine panorama.
The story of La Poja and Giovanni Allegrini’s revolution in Valpolicella
When in 1979 Giovanni Allegrini, driven by a deep love for his Valpolicella, decided to plant only Corvina grapes on the summit of La Grola, he did not imagine the extraordinary success that this wine would achieve. However, it is precisely from this happy intuition that the modern legend of La Poja originated more than 40 years ago.
In a unique plot of land, 320 meters above sea level, the revolution began with the application of real viticultural innovations for the time. A small great revolution in Valpolicella, due to the transition from the traditional Pergola in the training system to Guyot. Changing a density of plants per hectare that was more than double, a solution identified to contain the vigor of Corvina Veronese, reducing yields in favor of a greater concentration of grapes.
An agronomic and viticultural revolution, which then laid the foundations for the rise of Valpolicella itself as a terroir of great reds also from grapes vinified at harvest.
Fruits that this plateau of about three hectares, a large “Cru” with soil rich in potassium and calcium, low in magnesium and iron, thanks to the dazzling whiteness of the limestone stones, helps to deliver at full ripeness to give shape to La Poja, an icon of Allegrini production.
A wine that, after four years of aging in the cellar, presents itself as intense and elegant, with ample aromas of fruit, herbs and spices, full-bodied and with a very long aging capacity.
Only Corvina Veronese, an excellent native vine, for a great refined and deep red, where fruit, spices and balsamic notes blend perfectly. When tasted, it reveals both consistency and lightness, warmth and dynamism, richness and simplicity, as only great wines can express. With an evolutionary potential that exceeds 20 years, it is one of the two Allegrini labels, together with the Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Fieramonte, to have conquered, an absolute first for Valpolicella, La Place de Bordeaux, the beating heart of the international market for high-quality wines, with which it now covers over 50 countries, despite a very limited production.
The dream vertical between La Poja 1997 and 2018
The character and class of La Poja were reaffirmed by the blind tasting of seven historic vintages, in a “blind” process that ranged from 1997, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 and 2018. In the splendid setting of Palazzo Nani, the journey through the different evolutions of La Poja over time was accompanied by stories, anecdotes and experiences related to the evolution of the wine and the cellar by the members of the Allegrini family.
Then, the glass spoke, clearly expressing what La Poja is today. Starting from 2018, between red fruits, Cassis and a smoky oak note in the background. Austere, compact, a salty acidity and very clear definition of the contours. Young, it opens up with the passing of the minutes in the glass, growing in agility.
Next, the 2016 vintage has made its appearance. Beautiful balance. Red fruit with hints of ripe plum. Licorice. Beautiful freshness, just the right density. Enveloping, but dense, where the pulp is the protagonist. Chiseled.
Then space for the 2013 vintage, one of the three favorites of the writer together with 2006 and 2001. Great elegance, depth. Beautiful acidity. Silky in the mouth, the tannin is velvety. Note of coffee on the finish of the fruit, creamy. Beautiful evolution. Less expansive in terms of power compared to the previous ones. Cherry, spicy, a touch of minerality.
The fourth wine brought the 2009 vintage into the glass. Young. Floral. Thin. Vegetal. Nervous and dynamic.
The 2006 vintage, on the other hand, presented a wonderful citrus profile, showing from the first sip an evolution that the previous wines had not yet achieved. It is a gentle density that time has given it in the glass. Delicate red fruit and pulp: in the background. Very elegant and Mediterranean on the nose. Dry.
In view of the grand finale, the 2001 vintage presents itself, where the cherry returns. Earthy. Salty with a more subtle acidity. Delicate density. Great persistence. Balsamic, mentholated, increasingly medicinal as the minutes pass.
Closing is the 1997 vintage that tells its story with a beautiful vivacity. More direct, sharp, it cleans the palate. Red fruit, cherry, tobacco. For a wine that is still futuristic today.
