Featured wine profile

Allegrini La Grola 2022

A polished Valpolicella Classico Superiore from the La Grola hill, blending Corvina Veronese with Oseleta to bridge local Valpolicella identity and a modern, approachable red-wine style.

External scores: 91 James Suckling, 90 Vinous. Vivino community rating is about 4.2/5.

This profile is designed to help readers recognize the bottle, understand the style, and decide where it fits at the table. La Grola is not Amarone; it is a fresher, oak-polished Valpolicella red.

Why this wine matters

La Grola is one of Allegrini's important Valpolicella reds because it sits between tradition and a more polished international style. It keeps Corvina at the center, adds the darker structure of Oseleta, and avoids the dried-grape weight of Amarone.

That makes it a useful bottle for understanding modern Valpolicella: serious enough for dinner, easier to approach than many prestige reds, and still tied clearly to the limestone soils of the La Grola hill.

What to expect

The 2022 vintage was warm, so the wine should feel more open and fruit-forward than cooler years. Expect ripe black cherry, red plum, juniper, sweet spice, coffee, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate, and cedar-like oak notes.

On the palate, the appeal is the balance: full-bodied and silky, with polished tannins and enough freshness from the hillside soils to keep the ripe fruit from feeling heavy.

How to read the scores

The early score pattern is solid rather than flashy: 91 from James Suckling and 90 from Vinous, with Vivino users around 4.2/5. That fits La Grola's role: not the grand pure-Corvina statement of La Poja, but a reliable, high-quality Valpolicella bottle that is easier to drink earlier.

Food pairings

Pair it with lamb chops and rosemary, grilled beef, mushroom dishes, aged cheeses, or Bigoli with duck ragu. It has enough body for meat, but it is not so heavy that it needs only very rich food.

Serving tip

Serve around 16-18 C. It can be opened now, especially with food, but it should also improve over the next 5-8 years. If serving young, open it ahead of dinner or give it a short decant.

Best for

Choose La Grola when you want a polished Veneto red that feels more serious than basic Valpolicella but less intense and expensive than Amarone or La Poja.

Similar Veneto wines

• Allegrini La Poja 2018 for the more prestigious pure-Corvina expression from the same hill.
• Valpolicella to understand the broader region and grape style.
• Bertani Amarone Valpantena 2020 if you want a richer appassimento-style comparison.