2008 Amarone della Valpolicella

Unusual to see a library release of a 15 year old Amarone, and it's great to see the extra decade smoothing out the bittersweet angles of this wine style, softening them into curves. Expect an inky colour, plenty of smoke, tar, grilled toast, liqourice, Christmas pudding, bitter chocolate, blackcurrant and cloves. This remains tight and powerful but there is an underlying caress to the structure that makes for a pretty electrifying combination. 34ha etate; owned by Romano dal Forno, winemaker Romano and Marco Dal Forno. Make sure you give this some time in a carafe.

Production was skipped over in 2007 due to extreme hail damage. The fruit that would normally be destined to Amarone went to the lower tier Valpolicella Superiore instead. The 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta marks a return to a slightly cooler vintage with a longer growing season slowed down during the summer's moderate temperatures. Indeed, harvest was wrapped up during the first days of November. The blend is mostly Corvina, at about 60%, with smaller parts Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina and Oseleta. The new Dal Forno winery was finished in 2008, complete with the unique vacuum-sealed fermentation tasks that help to avoid any intrusive oxygen during winemaking. Indeed, this wine is balanced and elegant with fruit that is still crunchy and very much alive. The tannins are firm and nicely integrated into the wine's thick, fleshy consistency. This vintage is characterized by a very elegant and graceful approach, which must be taken into context given the enormity of a wine of this caliber. Happily, there is no doubt that this vintage should still evolve steadily over time.

This is a lighter, more elegant style from Dal Forno, reflecting the cooler vintage conditions in 2008. The juicy palate is balanced by a wonderful level of structure, with slightly generic but ripe plum and hedgerow fruit with violet lift. A textural mid-palate leads onto a creamy cherry fruit finish.