TN: Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella 1991

This was the last of the 1991 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella that I had in the cellar.
Relatively pale, has lost some colour over time.
Nose: still very nice but now quite restrained red cherry and red fruits.
Palatte: Quite nice but a little thin. The fruit has largely gone but the acidity remains. This is a pleasant wine but it once was a great wine.
Bottom line: 22 years is too long for this wine; 10-15 is really the sweet spot and, over 20, you are taking risks.

Still very good but a pale shadow of what it once was.

Good to know. I had a bottle of the 1996 which was excellent about 5-6 years ago. I wonder how it would taste today?

Mark, I would not wait a long time to find out. While I am a definite fan of ageing Italian wines for a decade or more, I have noticed that they do not go on forever. Aldo Conterno made a truly outstanding Barbera in 1997 which was simply sensational in about 2008 but not so good 2 years later. Brunellos last longer but even they seem to thin out eventually. Having said that, I still have a number of 1995-1999 wines in the cellar which are holding their own. I just don't plan on having any left in 5 years.

Regards

1991 must be one of his first vintages, right?
/A

Romano began making wine under his own label sometime in the mid-80s. According to his website, he met Quintarelli in 1979 which suggests that my best guess is about right for when he started making his own wines. I have had his wines from 1987 on. I stopped buying his wines on a regular basis in the late 90s as they got more and more expensive (and more and more alcoholic).

Regards,

Robert