The Allegrini family estate covers 120 hectares of vineyard in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. Although they have been growing grapes here for several centuries, Giovanni Allegrini was the first to start bottling wines from the family’s vineyards. When he died in 1983, he passed a passion for and a commitment to quality wine onto his three children – Walter, Marilisa and Franco. They worked together to build on Giovanni’s quality ethos until Walter’s death in 2003. Franco now looks after the vineyards and the winemaking, while Marilisa takes charge of sales and marketing. From the 2007 vintage, Franco sacrificed the Classico status of the Valpolicella and bottled the wine under Stelvin to eliminate cork taint and random oxidation problems as much as possible. Unlike in other areas of Italy, the 2017 vintage developed with very satisfactory regularity. The vineyards escaped frost and hailstorms, and while rainfall was lower than average, it was still within the norm. The dry and breezy climate, with wide variations in day-night temperatures in the final few weeks, enabled the grapes to fully express their varietal aromas in addition to ensuring their excellent health. This wine is elegant and well balanced, with a good structure and aroma. Ruby red in colour with purple hues, it offers light hints of raisins, sophisticated notes of vanilla, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon. It has a long, velvety finish and soft tannins.