Dal Forno Romano, Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto Monte Lodoletta, 2004

Romano Dal Forno does not make Valpolicella the way anyone else makes Valpolicella. From his Monte Lodoletta vineyard he farms Corvina and friends to obsessive yields, dries the fruit for about six weeks before fermentation, a shorter appassimento than he gives his Amarone, and then ages the wine for years in barrel. The result has always been enormous, dark and dense, closer in spirit to Amarone than to the light red Valpolicella most people picture. This 2004 comes to us from a private cellar with two decades of age on it, which is when these wines finally start to unwind. It is still going to be a big wine. Give it a long decant and a serious meal. This is a bottle for a night that deserves one.