Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C.

Comaroto

Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C.

In stock

$78.00 $104.00/L

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The Product in Brief:

✓ Vintage 2021

✓ Grape varieties: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina, Oseleta

✓ Obtained from the harmonious blend of fresh grapes (70%), which provide liveliness, and dried grapes (30%), which give depth and softness.

✓ Aging: 24 months in tonneaux + 24 months in bottle

✓ Notes of incense, smoke, and flint intertwine with aromas of ripe black cherry and raspberry.

✓ Perfect balance between concentration and freshness, with great drinkability

✓ Ideal with structured pasta dishes, red meats, and traditional cuisine

Producer Fact Sheet (PDF)

In the hills of Illasi (VR), Comaroto represents the wine excellence signed by Dal Forno Bros. Illasi, in the heart of eastern Valpolicella, extends at the foot of the Lessini Mountains: the calcareous-clay soils give rise to structured and elegant wines. Caressed by the breeze from the Lessini Mountains, the grapes slowly mature, enriching themselves with aromas and harmony.

Our Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C. aims to be different, to naturally stand out. A different expression of the same great tradition: for this reason, we adopt the same quality criteria and the same meticulous care that we reserve for Amarone. It's a way of working that doesn't change with the type of wine, but remains consistent in the pursuit of balance, elegance, and authenticity. From this philosophy comes a new Valpolicella, more streamlined and engaging, obtained from the harmonious blend of fresh grapes (70%) and dried grapes (30%).

From September 10th to October 15th, only the best bunches are hand-picked, and a meticulous manual sorting is carried out to eliminate all berries that do not meet our standards. The selected grapes are then partially pressed immediately and partially left to rest for several weeks in a large open space, where a ventilation system helps maintain a high and constant airflow. Towards the end of November, the portion of grapes undergoing appassimento is sorted again to ensure there are no damaged berries, and then proceeds to the pressing phase.

Fermentation then takes place in steel tanks at a controlled temperature of approximately 28°C, where an innovative computerized system allows for automatic cap punching for about 15 days. After the racking process, the Valpolicella rests for a few days in stainless steel tanks, allowing for decantation, and is then placed in tonneaux to age for 24 months. The final phase involves blending all the barrels and creating a single mass that will be bottled and left to age for another 24 months before release to the market.

Intense and saturated ruby red color. A deep and captivating aroma, with notes of incense, smoke, and flint intertwining with aromas of ripe black cherry and raspberry. This imposing and enveloping wine manages to remain light from the first to the last sip thanks to its harmonious acidity.

Product Sheet:

Production Area: Illasi Hills (Verona) altitude 160-220 meters.

Age of vineyards: 20–40 years.

Soil Characteristics: 40% limestone, 30% silt, 30% clay.

Aging: After the racking process, the Valpolicella rests for a few days in stainless steel tanks, allowing for decantation, and is then placed in tonneaux to age for 24 months.

Alcohol Content: 13.5%

Serving Temperature: 16–18°C.

Production Philosophy: Comaroto's production philosophy adopts a purist approach, linked to the land, tradition, and respect for the raw material, with the aim of enhancing the identity of the individual grapes through careful manual work meticulously managed in every detail.

Between Verona and the hills overlooking Lake Garda, a valley of stone, vineyards, and history welcomes the most authentic essence of Veneto wine.

Situated between Verona and Lake Garda, Valpolicella is a mosaic of hills, vineyards, and stone villages that tell the story of centuries of civilization, work, and beauty. It's a valley that breathes the rhythm of the earth, where every season has its own scent and every gesture preserves an ancient knowledge. The name "Valpolicella" likely derives from the Latinvallis poli cellae, "valley of many cellars": a destiny written from the very beginning, when wine was already an integral part of life and culture in these hills in Roman times. The first evidence of vine cultivation dates back to the 1st century AD, and over the centuries, Valpolicella wine has become a symbol of a patient art, passed down from generation to generation. Among the Romanesque churches, rural courtyards, and Venetian villas, one can read the layers of a history that has united nobility and peasants, faith and work, land and spirit. Every stone, every row of vines, every village like Fumane, Marano, Negrar, or San Pietro in Cariano, tells of a community that has built its identity around wine.

Valpolicella is a unified yet complex territory, divided into three large areas, each with a distinct character that contributes to the overall harmony of its wines.

The Classic ValpolicellaThe oldest and most well-known, Valpolicella includes the historic municipalities of Fumane, Marano, Negrar, San Pietro in Cariano, and Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella. Here, vines grow on limestone and white marl soils, in a landscape of extraordinary beauty. It is the birthplace of Amarone and Recioto, intense and complex wines born from a perfect balance between nature, technique, and human intuition.

The Valpantena, located further east, is a green and harmonious valley, where vineyards alternate with olive groves and forests. It's known as the "valley of all gifts" thanks to its ideal exposure and mineral-rich soils. The wines here express elegance, freshness, and verticality: another voice, more subtle but equally profound, in the great chorus of Valpolicella.

Eastern Valpolicella, which encompasses the municipalities of Mezzane, Illasi, and Cazzano di Tramigna, stands out for the strength and structure of its wines. The volcanic soils and drier climate produce powerful, characterful, and long-lived reds, representing the boldest and most contemporary side of tradition.

The Valpolicella landscape is an open-air museum. Renaissance Venetian villas, built by noble Veronese families, alternate with Romanesque churches like San Giorgio di Valpolicella, one of the oldest and most evocative sites in the area. The rural stone courtyards, meanwhile, tell the story of rural life, the toil and joy of a profession that is still evident in the daily gestures of winemakers today. In Valpolicella, time is the true protagonist: the time of appassimento, when the grapes are laid out in drying rooms and the winter air slowly dries them, concentrating their aromas and flavors; the time of fermentation and waiting, which transforms the must into wine; the time of memory, which links each vintage to the next like chapters in the same story. Amarone, Recioto, and Valpolicella Superiore are not just wines, but forms of storytelling: stories of hands, patience, and vision. Each bottle captures the essence of this valley: the strength of the stone, the gentle hills, the wisdom of man. Today, Valpolicella is one of Italy's most prestigious winemaking regions, yet it remains faithful to its authentic soul. New generations of producers have respectfully innovated, keeping the culture of the vineyard and the community alive. Every winery, large or small, cherishes the same conviction: that wine here is born not only from the land, but from the encounter between memory, identity, and time. Valpolicella is a valley that never ceases to teach the value of slowness, listening, and continuity. It is a place where wine is not just drunk: it is lived.

Some stories write themselves; stories that need no pompous introductions or catchy phrases. Comaroto is one of those stories. A story that values the time that has passed — its slow, inexorable, and evocative passing — to appreciate every nook and cranny, every lesson, and transform it today into a wine that carries within it the essence of an authentic past. A name was sought that would recall grandparents, ancestors, and at the same time could retrace their efforts and their lives: times when one worked with one's hands, with one's head down, without shortcuts. Simple, absolute values: honesty and hard work. Values that today, often, seem to contrast with the present time. From this search, Comaroto was born, a name that has its roots in the nickname of grandfather Ernesto Dal Forno, son of Erminia Danzi, a midwife in Val d'Illasi in the early twentieth century. The term “Comare” (godmother), in the local dialect, became “Comaroto”: a nickname that was handed down in the family and that today has become a symbol of gratitude, memory, and roots.

Winemaker, cellarmaster, enologist — modern and often high-sounding terms that dominate the language of fine wine. But Comaroto was born precisely to remember what comes first: the countryside, the vineyard, the physical work, the daily care of the land. Today, too often, the manual part is delegated, considered secondary, while it is there that the true poetry of wine takes shape. Comaroto chooses to take a step back to distinguish itself from every context: it enhances the primary part of the process, the one in which the raw material becomes a story. Comaroto Amarone and Valpolicella are the result of this philosophy: wines that carry with them the ethics of work, the authenticity of origins, and respect for time. Every bunch is selected, every step rigorously controlled. Not to pursue a style, but to restore the truth of the place and the history from which it comes. And if there is a legacy that is worth more than any other, it is that learned alongside Romano Dal Forno: method, precision, consistency, the awareness that the raw material is everything.

Today Michele and Luca, Romano's sons, with their company Dal Forno Bros., have transformed that human and technical heritage into a new, strongly identity-driven project. Comaroto is their homage to the family, to the valley, and to the gestures of their origins. It is the meeting point between memory and the future, between peasant culture and oenological mastery. As adults, they remember unexpected anecdotes: family evenings at the farmhouse, after-dinner hours spent helping, corking bottles, inserting cartons, hand-labeling. Experiences that today are relived as fragments of an emotional and sensory education. There was the stove on, the smell of wine, school the next morning. Yet no one perceived it as effort. It was play, it was belonging, it was the unconscious beginning of a profession. That way of experiencing work — made of respect, curiosity, and natural discipline — has become the very matrix of the Dal Forno method, handed down today in Comaroto. Comaroto is not just a brand, but a story: the bridge between childhood and maturity, between manual skill and knowledge, between memory and vision. Under the guidance of Dal Forno Bros., the project represents the natural evolution of a family tradition that has made Val d'Illasi an international symbol of quality and authenticity. A name that arises from the roots to look forward, with the same seriousness and respect that have always guided those who, in that valley, learned to make wine with their hands and heart.