In terms of Valpolicella, one tends to think of the wine as simple. That is until you talk about the Valpolicella that is produced by Dal Forno. His wines are anything but simple. Antonio Galloni even goes on to say that because “the Valpolicella is made from 100% dried fruit, it makes it more of a second wine of the flagship Amarone than a true Valpolicella.”
Valpolicella wines have different distinctions and are usually produced with a blend of grapes, mainly being Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. The regular DOC Valpolicella can be simple and thin, and really not be anything special. Then there is Valpolicella Ripasso, which uses the grape musts from the left over Amarone that fermented to add body. Besides Amarone, which dries out the grapes for at least 3 months to concentrate the sugars, there is Valpolicella Superiore which uses the same method just for a shorter amount of time. Dal Forno says their Valpolicella Superiore is dried for 1 and a half months before fermenting, which is why it is sometimes considered a second label Amarone.
Romano Dal Forno’s family had been vineyard owners in Valpolicella for several generations before ever producing wine. They would sell off the grapes to other producers. It wasn’t until Romano met Guiseppe Quintarelli, another famous Valpolicella and Amarone producer, that he became inspired to get into the wine business. Romano never went to Oenology school and is a self-taught winemaker, who produced his first vintage in 1983. In that short amount of time, he has become one of the top producers in the Veneto region and his wines highly sought after.
I planned on enjoying the 2009 Dal Forno Valpolicella by itself just to really see what it was all about, but at the last second I had a change of heart and figured with this big wine, it should have a really flavorful and interesting dish to go along with it. Right out of the glass, the aromas just filled the room. Dark fruit, violets, some earth, chocolate…just amazing smells. Then the palate matched the aromas with a tannic backbone that will allow this wine to age for a long time. Deep, dark and rich but with a good amount of structure so it doesn’t come off as an overly heavy wine. This wine needed something with a lot of flavor to stand up to it. I paired it with Korean BBQ Fries from a local restaurant. It consisted of marinated steak, pickled bok choy and kimchi. It went amazing with the wine! Not only did the wine hold up to the meal, but actually brought out more flavors in the dish that complemented the food, like smoke and spice. At $68.99, this wine is a steal that you should stock up on before it’s gone! This is an even better deal when you consider the release price was $130.
“Built like a tank, the 2009 Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta is a masterful achievement. This wine shows so beautifully, especially in a warm but balanced vintage like 2009. The fruit is expressive and articulate with deep layers of blackberry preserves, dried cherry, dark chocolate, espresso bean, mesquite smoke and soy sauce. The mouthfeel is super rich and concentrated as the Dal Forno signature style would dictate...” - 94+ Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Black cherries, plums, graphite, tapenade, melted road tar and game hits the palate as Romano Dal Forno's 2009 Valpolicella Superiore shows off its personality. The 2009 brings together the signature richness of a wine made from 100% dried fruit with distinctly wild, almost Syrah-like overtones. Inky and intense, with considerable tannic backbone, the 2009 is really more of a junior Amarone than a Valpolicella….” - 92 Antonio Galloni