Dal Forno Amarone 2003

James Suckling
Dense garnet color, with aromas of fresh figs, cherries, prunes and dark chocolate. Dense and silky with stunning dried prune flavors, a full body and super-lively cleansing acidity despite 145 g/L of residual sugar. A meditation wine with definition and depth. A rarity. Drink now.

Vinous
Dal Forno's 2003 Amarone is a joy to taste. Today it is surprisingly much more accessible than the Valpolicella in this vintage. Inviting aromatics lead to a sumptuous expression of dark fruit, bitter chocolate, minerals, licorice, tar and smoke. The wine possesses stunning depth and a finish that lasts forever. A few years of bottle age will allow the wine to acquire additional complexity, but this remains one of the more accessible Amarones (in relative terms) that Dal Forno has made in the recent past. According to Dal Forno, the 2003 Amarone has a touch more residual sugar than is the norm here (owing to the hot vintage), which is the main reason the wine remains relatively accessible.

Robert Parker
Dal Forno’s 2003 Amarone is a joy to taste. Today it is surprisingly much more accessible than the Valpolicella in this vintage. Inviting aromatics lead to a sumptuous expression of dark fruit, bitter chocolate, minerals, licorice, tar and smoke. The wine possesses stunning depth and a finish that lasts forever. A few years of bottle age will allow the wine to acquire additional complexity, but this remains one of the more accessible Amarones (in relative terms) that Dal Forno has made in the recent past. According to Dal Forno, the 2003 Amarone has a touch more residual sugar than is the norm here (owing to the hot vintage), which is the main reason the wine remains relatively accessible. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020.

All of these wines from Romano Dal Forno require significant aeration to show the true breadth of this passionate grower’s innovative style. Ideally the wines should be cellared for a minimum of a few years. Readers in search of short-term gratification are advised to open these bottles at least eight to ten hours before serving. This also holds for the Valpolicella, which has become an especially massive, structured wine after Dal Forno started producing it from 100% dried fruit in the 2002 vintage. Dal Forno favors 100% new American oak for his wines, although in recent years he has brought the aging regime down considerably.

Dal Forno Romano er blandt de mest ikoniske producenter i Valpolicella og har sat nye standarder for Amarone og regionens vine. Familien etablerede vingården i 1983 i Illasi-dalen, øst for Verona, og har siden arbejdet kompromisløst på at skabe vine med ekstrem koncentration, præcision og holdbarhed. Dal Forno regnes i dag som en af Italiens absolutte topnavne.

Produktionen bygger på en kompromisløs tilgang: ekstremt lave udbytter, streng selektion af druer og en markant længere tørringsproces (appassimento) end traditionelt i området. Huset arbejder især med druerne Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta og Croatina, som efter tørring og gæring lagres i nye franske barriques. Resultatet er vine med stor kraft, men også med en struktur og kompleksitet, der gør dem lagringsegnede i flere årtier.

Dal Forno er særligt kendt for sin Amarone della Valpolicella Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta, der er blevet en kultvin verden over, samt en Valpolicella Superiore, som ofte beskrives som en "mini-Amarone" på grund af sin dybde og intensitet. Fælles for vinene er, at de kombinerer monumental styrke med en sjælden renhed og balance, hvilket gør Dal Forno til en målestok for moderne Amarone.