The Allegrini family is best known for their wines from Valpolicella. But for the past twenty years, they have also been making wine in Tuscany, in Montalcino and in Bolgheri at the Poggio al Tesoro winery. This year they are launching a new wine made from viognier: Sondraia Costa Toscana Bianco.
The Allegrini family is one of the historical producers in Valpolicella, in Veneto, but they also make wine in Tuscany. Both in Montalcino, at the San Polo winery and in Bolgheri, at Poggio al Tesoro, along the Tuscan coast.
“It was 2001 when my brother Walter and I fell in love with Bolgheri, for its beauty, history and potential,” says the charismatic Marilisa Allegrini in her dark characterful voice. Two years later, her brother Walter tragically passed away, and Marilisa took over the helm of the family business.
“Bolgheri was our common dream, here we had the freedom to develop a new expression of our wines, and with a greater freedom than in Valpolicella,” she says.
This year, she and Poggio al Tesoro are betting on a new wine, Sondraia 2019, made from 100 per cent viognier.
This grape is usually associated with the south of France and the Rhône Valley. It thrives in the sandy soil of Bolgheri. But they experimented for a long time before they decided to release the wine on the market since viognier is not an easy grape variety to work with.
“We want to keep elegance and fruit in the wine, so we harvest at night. And then we age the wine in three different containers “, says Lorenzo Fortini, winemaker at Poggio al Tesoro. Fifty per cent of the wine is in steel tank, thirty per cent in oak barrels and the rest in terracotta vessels.
“The wine gets depth and resilience from the oak barrels, from the steel tanks it gets fruit and freshness, and from the amphora vessels saltiness, without the wine getting an oxidized tone,” he says.
Sondraia Costa Toscana Bianco I.G.T. 2019, Allegrini
The wine is fresh, with aromas of jasmine and citrus in all its forms; it is medium-bodied with a sweetness from ripe fruit, balanced by a well-preserved acidity. The taste stays on the palate for a long time. Sondraia 2019 went perfectly with oven-baked cod, crispy potatoes and a creamy white wine sauce. The wine is made in a small edition, a total of 2759 bottles and 150 magnums.
The price is around 50-55 euros in shops in Italy.
