Tag Archives: romano dal forno

The critics who matter for Amarone are Gambero Rosso with its Tre Bicchieri, Bibenda with its 5 Grappoli, James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Decanter. They rarely agree. This gathers what each of them rated highest in 2023 and says where the overlap is.

Wine and food work together through acidity, tannin, fat, salt and sugar. Acidity cuts fat, tannin binds to protein, sweetness must outrun the dish or it tastes sour. This applies that to the Valpolicella wines and explains why Amarone wants braised meat and aged cheese.

Romano Dal Forno remade what Amarone could be: yields cut to almost nothing, grapes dried in temperature controlled lofts, long ageing in new French barriques, and a wine of extraordinary density that needs a decade before it opens. He is the modern pole of the valley, opposite Quintarelli.