{"product_id":"allegrini-la-poja-igt-2016-300cl","title":"Allegrini La Poja, IGT 2016 - 300cl","description":"\u003cp\u003eThree litres of it — this is La Poja in double magnum, a format built for the kind of dinner you remember. And it's a serious wine to fill it. La Poja was the world's first single-vineyard 100% Corvina, first bottled by Franco Allegrini in 1983 from a triangular, limestone-white plot at the very top of the La Grola hill in Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Two and a bit hectares, all Corvina, trained on Guyot rather than the old pergola.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the thing people get wrong: this is not Amarone. There's no drying of the grapes, no sweetness — the \"graspo rosso\" clone ripens fully on the vine, ten days later than the neighbouring La Grola, so Allegrini can make a dry, structured red from fresh fruit alone. Think of it as Corvina given the single-vineyard, fine-wine treatment it rarely gets. The 2016 vintage in Veneto was cool and long, an excellent year that gave freshness and detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ageing is ambitious — twenty months in new Allier barriques, eight more in large Slavonian casks, then the better part of a year settling in bottle. Expect a deep, brooding red: raspberry and black cherry over cracked black pepper, cocoa, clove and a savoury, almost curry-spice lift. The palate is dense but graceful, tannins firm and fine, acidity holding it all upright through a long, spiced finish. In magnum it will age slower and steadier still.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSave it for a crowd and a long lunch — a bottle this size is an event in itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow to Serve\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServe at 17-18°C in large bowls. A double magnum demands a proper decant — pour it off well ahead, up to two hours, both to aerate a wine still in its youth and to leave any sediment behind. Give yourself a steady hand and a wide decanter; three litres is a lot to move.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere to Drink It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe River Cafe in Hammersmith, whose Italian kitchen and big-format culture were made for a bottle like this. Brat in Shoreditch, for the wood grill against all that spice and structure. The Wolseley on Piccadilly, if the occasion is a grand, unhurried lunch for the table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFood Pairings\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA charcoal-grilled côte de boeuf for the table is the move — enough char and fat to meet the pepper and firm tannin. Failing that, a slow-cooked venison ragù over wide pasta.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"House of Decant","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55289199624516,"sku":"109509820160103000","price":499.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0858\/2551\/9940\/files\/109509820160101500_67448d26-9795-4e15-98b8-7ae230f497c7.png?v=1773858935","url":"https:\/\/checkout.houseofdecant.com\/products\/allegrini-la-poja-igt-2016-300cl","provider":"House of Decant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}