Romano Dal Forno Amarone: 1988-2010

Romano Dal Forno's eponymous winery deserves more recognition within the collectors' community, as he produces some of the most mind-bending, beautiful wines anywhere in the world. Scroll down to see all 20 vintages of Romano Dal Forno Amarone The philosophy [subscriber-content]Romano is a problem solver and a perfectionist. His family background was in grape growing, not winemaking, owning vines outside of the heartland of the Classico zone. He founded his winery in 1983, and hasn't looked back since. Perhaps because of his lack of experience and the challenges he faced as a winemaker, he began to focus on a scientific approach that defines the style of his wines to this day. There is a hint of recognition here for the great Bordeaux châteaux; his grand, sprawling winery echoes the great estates of the Médoc, and his near-obsession with reductive winemaking stems from an aim to match the renowned ageabililty of the top cru classés. One can also detect some influence of fellow Amarone producer Giuseppe Quintarelli, famed for the richness and quality of his wines. A key step in the vineyard that came from some early meetings with Quintarelli was increasing vine density and reducing yields by green-harvesting. [caption id="attachment_386077" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Just part of the 20 vintage lineup. Credit: Fine & Rare[/caption] About this tasting This tasting of 20 vintages of Dal Forno Amarone was not easy to arrange, such is the lack of availability. It covers every single vintage ever produced, up to 2010. The latest release, the 2011, was tasted by Andrew Jefford separately and has been added to the list below for completeness. Luckily, Dal Forno's ex-importer in Germany came up trumps. Only the 2001 proved faulty but, rather ostentatiously, a magnum was on-hand to fill the gap. The setting was the cosy confines of the Clove Club, where head chef Isaac McHale prepared a brilliant menu to match the wines, this time from magnums, in flights of three. Dishes included morels stuffed with wood pigeon sausage, wild garlic purée & snails (highlighting the autumnal tones of the 2000 perfectly) to the dry-aged pork chop, blood pudding & red cabbage purée (a heavenly pairing for the rich meatiness of the 2003). Evolution Romano Dal Forno's earliest vintages are really interesting, as you can almost envisage him dialling everything in as he learns. The 1988, his first Amarone vintage, was suprisingly evolved and relatively delicate, but displayed elegant acidity; a thread that runs through all of his wines. 1990, aided by superior vintage conditions, showed more texture, cleaner fruit and tons of complexity. This set a really high bar for the subsequent wines. By the mid-to-late '90s, the wines were putting on more weight and gaining deeper, meatier tones. A decade later, in 2004, we reached what I consider to be the modern Dal Forno style; breadth and power with extremely refined tannins. All the wines from 1995 onwards were decanted. Nature and nurture Romano Dal Forno's Amarone is sourced from a single vineyard in the Illasi Valley, called Monte Lodoletta, located at an altitude of around 300 metres on the flatter mid-slope, overlooked by the modern winery (completed at the end of 2007). The gravelly soils with silt and clay are home to Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina - but Molinara is dismissed for its lack of acidity, colour and tannin. Traditional viticultural methods are used, the antithesis to his approach in the winery. The grapes are typically harvested from the end of September to the end of October. They are then manually sorted in the winery and placed in computer-controlled drying chambers for three months before pressing. Fermentation is carried out in temperature controlled stainless steel vats, with pistons performing an automatic punch-down to extract colour and texture. The wine is then racked under vacuum to new barriques, and assemblage is carried out just before bottling, where the wine spends another 36 months. [/subscriber-content] 20 vintages of Romano Dal Forno Amarone: [wine-collection] You may also like: Jefford on Monday: The nth degree winery Amarone della Valpolicella – panel tasting results Top Valpolicella Superiore: Panel tasting results

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Romano Dal Forno Amarone: 1988-2010

Scroll down to see all 20 vintages of Romano Dal Forno Amarone

The philosophy

20 vintages of Romano Dal Forno Amarone:

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