Dal Forno Romano, Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto Monte Lodoletta, 2014

Romano Dal Forno turned Valpolicella from an easy weeknight red into one of Italy's most obsessive wines, and Monte Lodoletta is where he does it. Corvina-led, farmed at punishing yields, partly dried before fermentation and then given years in barrel, this is a wine built on a scale that has nothing to do with the Valpolicella of your average pizza night. 2014 was cool and rainy in the Veneto, a genuinely difficult year, and Dal Forno's fanatical fruit selection is exactly what a vintage like that calls for. Expect a wine with real depth but a slightly more restrained frame than the blockbuster years. It arrives from a private cellar. Decant it well ahead and bring a proper meal.