Amarone experts - I need help

[mdibiaso]

I have a bottle of Dal Forno Romano Amarone. I have only had Amarone once before so I was hoping some of you experts could help me with two questions. 1) Should I decant it and let it breath if so how long? 2) What are some good foods to serve it with?

Thanks in advance.

[Andre]

Not an expert on Amarone yet the vintage is very important here, any idea?

[mdibiaso]

It is a 1990.

[balex]

I also am not an expert but 1990 was (apparently) a very good year for Amarone as well as almost everywhere else in Europe.

The traditional pairings are meat, game, strong cheeses etc.

[Ruth]

Your amarone will be just ready to drink although you could easily keep it for another ten years.

Do decant it about an hour before dinner. Why not a bistecca a la fiorentina? Actually any game or a magret would be a perfect match

[Brad Ballinger]

Echoing what some of the others have said...

Dal Forno is a top notch Amarone producer, and 1990 was a great vintage. The wine will drink well now. It will also drink well ten years from now.

My top choices for food pairing with Amarone are gorgonzola and game. It's a wine that can stand up to strongly flavored cuisine.

[mdibiaso]

Thanks for the tips. Since it seems that this wine is in no rush to drink and is more of a winter wine than a summer wine I think I will wait to open it until the next time we are having a moose roast. Hell I live in Sweden where we can see mooses running down the street!

[Craig Camp]

Dal Forno produces the most concentrated and dense of all Amarone. It is the opposite in style from the great traditional producer Quintarelli. The dramatic size and power of the Dal Forno Amarone makes it far better suited for the cheese course than anything else -- it is just too big for most food. The 1990 is fully ready to drink as the Dal Forno style is more intensely and powerfully fruity than tannic and is more like drinking a Port than anything else - although it is not sweet. It will also age well for many more years, but if you do not have good storage conditions I would drink it sooner rather than later. I would decant it an hour before serving.

Here is an article on Amarone