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Venerable in Veneto
Dal Forno's Amarone & Valpolicella
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A Note from Sergio
There's
nothing like a Dal Forno Amarone or Valpolicella. Nothing! From the rich
Amarone to the burly Valpolicella, made from indigenous Veneto varieties,
there's no duplicating Romano Dal Forno's fanatical craft.
He's
a legend in wine, and in Veneto, not only because he studied under the absolute
best--Quintarelli--but because he took what he learned and created completely
different, mind-blowing wines of the region--and the entire "boot" for that
matter. His wines are more weighty and polished while Quintarelli's
are more traditional and rustic, but both are outstanding.
I
love that he found his own way to rival Quintarelli. He wasn't going to do it
by going head-to-head with the grand alchemist of tradition. Don't
like Slavonian oak? There's an alternative. Think there's a much better variety
for the traditional Amarone blend? He did, and he replaced it. In 1990, Dal
Forno moved from Slavonian oak, the traditional vessel for aging Amarone, to
barrique. He was also one of the first to reject, the Molinara grape, one of
the traditional constituents of Amarone, in preference of Oseleta, which
enhanced the wine's color and heightened its acidity. Dal Forno focused closely
on the passito method (drying of
grapes). To Romano, the success of the drying process is critical to the
quality of the wine, so he brought in an air circulation system to control
humidity and ensure the grapes' well-being over a 90-day drying period. He
incorporated different aging regimens, releasing the wines only after five
years of maturation in various combinations of barrique and bottle aging. The
rich wines also benefit from fruit cultivated at extremely low yields on this
estate's 12.5 hectares.
The
result is a complete powerhouse wine which is less challenging and instantly
gratifying--a modern Adonis of wines. Brave, intense and intricate--there's so
much going on in a Dal Forno that you just have to taste.
My Best,
 Dal Forno Romano
Amarone della Valpolicella 2002 $399.00
This vintage was a rough one with unusually cool and wet
weather, but this didn't affect the quality of Dal Forno's Amarone. For Romano,
the real magic happens during passito.
A rigorous grape selection admits only the highest quality fruit into Dal
Forno's drying room following sorting. Once the drying period has ended, any
grapes with botrytis, or rot, are also discarded. Crafted with a
60-20-10-10-percent blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Croatina
and Oseleta, this Amarone is
aged in new barrique for 22 to 28 months before another year in bottle. Inviting
aromatics lead to a sumptuous expression of dark fruit, bitter chocolate,
minerals, licorice, tar and smoke.
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 Dal Forno Romano
Amarone della Valpolicella 2003 $399.00**
Dal Forno's
2003 Amarone possesses stunning depth and a finish that seems to last forever.
A few years of bottle age usually allow this wine to acquire additional
complexity. According to Dal Forno, this Amarone has a touch more residual
sugar than the average 4.5 percent due to a hotter season and earlier ripening,
which left the wine more accessible than its 2002 counterpart. Still, the wine
has enough structure to continue to mature from 2010 through 2020.
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 Dal Forno Romano
Valpolicella Superiore 2004 $159.00**
The 2004 Valpolicella Superiore will gradually open in the
glass. Today, the wine retains its dense tannins and has revealed more of its
inner sweetness. Though Dal Forno's Valpolicella was once made using a blend of
dried and fresh fruit, since the 2002 vintage it has been 100 percent dried
fruit. Corvina is the primary grape in the blend at 70 percent with Rondinella,
Croatina and Oseleta contributing in lesser amounts. Fermented in temperature-controlled
stainless steel, the wine is aged in barrique for 36 months and rests in bottle
for one year before release. Not as thick as the estate's Amarone, but still
full-bodied on the palate, this red has pungent aromas of currants and raisins.
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**Indicates pre-arrival
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