1989 Amarone della Valpolicella

I do not drink much Amarone (although I methodically taste them every year) as I find most of it to be too pruny, somewhat oxidized, and not fresh enough, even allowing for the particular style of these wines. Yet even I get excited by such spectacular Amarones. Quintarelli has made many great ones, and I have enough bottles in my cellar to prove my faithfulness to his wines. Dal Forno Romano's 1989 Amarone is one of the greatest I have ever tasted. The color is a dark, saturated, murky garnet/ruby/charcoal. Incredibly sweet, rich aromas of prunes, chocolate, over-ripe black fruits, intermixed with a touch of truffles, cedar, licorice, and spice soar from a glass of this extraordinary wine. Thick and unctuous, but dry, this is a spectacularly endowed, multidimensional Amarone that can be drunk now and over the next 25 years. Sadly, only 50 cases were exported to the United States, most of which, I suspect, has been allocated to some of our country's finest Italian restaurants. It should be savored with cheese at the end of a meal. Readers who follow the Italian wine scene must argue incessantly over who makes the greatest wines of Veneto - Quintarelli or Dal Forno Romano? Both are at the top of their game, producing spectacular wines that are reference points for an area of northeast Italy that is beginning to show signs of awakening from a long period of moribund mediocrity. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200