Several years ago, I found myself in Tuscany, eating dinner at a centuries-old villa whose owner was quite literally a Contessa. We had brought with us a bottle of Dal Forno Romano's Amarone della Valpolicella for the meal, and I had placed it on the table in preparation. At some point towards the beginning of the meal, the Italian who was serving us walked passed the table, backpedaled, and stared at the bottle before turning to me and declaring that we had chosen one of the two (in his book) greatest of all Italian wines, and I must say, its definitely up there on my list as well—I think my favorite bottle of all time may have been a perfectly aged 1994 Dal Forno Amarone I was lucky enough to have a glass of (I'm still pinching myself). The Dal Forno family has been producing their acclaimed and iconic wines since Romano founded it is 1983. Romano, spent the early part of his life not as a winemaker, but as a grape-grower, but at the age of 22—and against his family's wishes—he chose to stop selling his grapes and make his own wine. He sought out a mentor to help him, and managed to land none other than Giuseppe Quintarelli, the Da Vinci of Amarone. Initially, Quintarelli was famously unimpressed with Romano's vineyard sites, stating that it was "fit only for corn," but of course that would change. Together the two would elevate themselves, the region, and the style of Amarone to new heights, and they remain, to this day the absolute benchmarks for the style. Produced using the appassimento process in which grapes are partially dried prior to fermentation, Amarone's a rich, bold and structured wines and Dal Forno's is no exception. Full of dried violets, black currants, plum cake, sweet tobacco, mint, and cocoa powder, the wine is incredibly concentrated. Dark and brooding, but surprisingly approachable, and will evolve over time to show more savory and spice notes. An absolutely stunning, world-class wine if there ever was one. 16.5% ABV
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