To commemorate the publishing on our new book, Decoding Italian Wine: A Beginner’s Guide to Enjoying the Grapes, Regions, Practices and Culture of the “Land of Wine,” I will be reviewing a string of what I think (and hope) will be awesome Italian wines I found at Costco in December.
The Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre is a Costco staple Italian red wine bargain when it's available. At $14.99 it's an excellent buy on a wine that tastes to me like it cost closer to $25 or $30. It's a blend of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella and 5% Sangiovese, and part of the grape harvest is isolated from the rest and left to dry out, in the style of Italy's Amarone wines, and then the fresh juice is later reintroduced to create the final product.
Amarone is obviously an important wine we covered in the book, and it's interesting to sample another bottle from Verona that utilizes this interesting approach to wine making. In the case of Amarones, the result is often a bigger, beefer wine that requires a few years of bottle time to settle down. This blend of "Amarone grapes" is not as heavy and is meant to be consumed younger. It's full of cherry and spice, vibrant, ready to go now flavor and a great body with an overall smoothness and elegance that really pushes it up market from its modest price point.
Pair this with hearty Italian meals with meat and red sauce. You can't go wrong. I'll be adding to our Top Picks list as I think this is a current bottle that everyone should try.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 90 Points
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Costco item number: 38325
Rhys Merrett says
I have consumed several bottles (on separate occasions!) based on an earlier review and concur it is very well priced and drinks well.
max says
What a nice surprise indeed, was walking past those bottles all the time, never bothered to pick or even read the label.
Use to like Masi Campofiorin, similar style, but that quickly disappeared from the Costco. Live 100 years, learn 100 years.