Dal Forno Romano, Valpolicella, Superiore Monte Lodoletta

Opaque purple. Leather, spices, dried dark fruits plenty of firm tannins on a long finish

2003 vintage

Fruit forward with age. Medium to high acid medium body

2015 vintage

Perfection personified. Sour cherry, cinnamon, pepper, chocolate, and almond. I want that one on one, I want that one on one time. Unfortunately, I had to share. Incredible wine, ready to drink.

2005 vintage

Plump dark and purple fruit. Tanin has smoothed out but still with a bit of a grip. Some vanilla & leather. Long finish.

2003 vintage

Wow, peak Parkerized wine. Lots of ripe, velvety fruit. Screams perfumed new oak on the nose. Rich, alcoholic, and borderline sweet. Not my cuppa.

2003 vintage

Other reviews capture, just an excellent wine.

2005 vintage

It wears its 15% alcohol quite lightly, A whiff of kirsch and dundee cake on the nose, dark cherry, menthol, a big mouthfeel but not overbearing. Enough acidity to give this a nice balance.

2005 vintage

Theme: No Killer B's Allowed (no Bordeaux, Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco, or Burgundy) Tasted blind. Rich, brooding, grippy, high acidity, with oak and a touch of vanilla sweetness on the finish.

2005 vintage

Honestly, what a wine. Delivered something so different from any other wine. Distinctively, not the norm..... lol, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can see how it has such a big following with so many wines being so similar, there's always need for something different.. and this was just that! New world style, but still with loads of old world characteristics. Thoroughly enjoyed.

2000 vintage

A birth year bottle shared with my youngest on his birthday. Popped & poured. In pristine form, with no seepage at all. I was amazed at the freshness and energy of the wine even after two decades. Black cherry notes dominated at first, soon followed by plum and fig notes. A touch of modest VA added lift. Sweet, fully integrated tannins. Such an impressive showing. The fruit did seem to dry a bit over time, so i would decant for …

2005 vintage

Very well Made wline, but not my style. Succeeds in what it wants to be. Heavily extracted, high alcohol, very big wine that presents a tough match with cuisine. Reminds me of Port, but bigger and bone dry. Clearly a ripassa style, bordering on Amarone.

2005 vintage

Very intense and pure ripe dark fruit with firm acidity and good tannic bite. Delicious. Stood clearly out in a flight of veneto red wines.

2015 vintage

Really liked this wine. So reminiscent of a good Amarone. Fruit cake, all spice, a hint of leather. All there, and still full of life after 19 years.

2005 vintage

My expectations were high with this one but I was only disappointed. At this price point there needs to be something special. This tasted like entry level Amarone. No complexity, just overripe dark red fruits and a lot of poorly integrated oak influence. Someone in the other notes said it was a bad year for the winery and I truly hope that this is a one time error because it is insulting to sell something this mediocre at this price.

2015 vintage

The wine of the evening. Served with slow cooked leg of lamb and garlic potato puré and haricots verts. Decanted for 1,5 hours. Red with some maturity notes in the rim. The nose pointed at Bordeaux dominated by Merlot, but with extra cherry tone. Velvety tannins, perfect balance, long finish. My best Vapolicella ever. Outscored Chateau Pichon Baron 1996.

1996 vintage

Big color and body. GOOOOOOD GOD the nose on this. Spicebox, sawed wood, potpourri, and lil dark prune. One of my favorite noses initially. had a glass then poured into decanter. By the time we got to this I wasn't loving it. Pretty sure there was a flaw. Saved a third of the bottle and virtually unchanged. Sad event in the end.

2005 vintage

A good, but not great year for this winery. Deep cherry notes and a ruby red color in the glass. A tad sweeter than I expected as well. Less palate covering than I would have hoped for…. I was wanting more out of this wine.

2015 vintage

Dal Forno Romano Tasting (Hedonism London) : Deep ruby in colour. The aromas take some time to be coaxed from the glass but eventually emerge as ripe raspberry, red cherry, sage leaf, and charred cedar notes. There’s a strong whack of oak. The residual sugar is fairly low, but the ripeness gives an off-dry note initially, though on the finish its resolutely dry, showing a pleasant bitterness. When it opens up further it shows pleasant medicinal and herbal notes. Very …

2015 vintage

Musky dark red fruits with abundant oak, grilled pepper and spices, old leather, cola, and flowers emerging with time. Super-ripe and Concentrated flavors of tart cherry, raspberry preserve, pepper, and lightly roasted medicinal herbs. Tight tannins demand time to soften. Very rich and powerful. Not completely void of elegance, but a closer proximity to bruting. Perhaps a bit hefty with Long legs, and a long rich bitter finish. You best have some barbecue with this, and some hearty side dishes. …

2003 vintage

Last bottle in my cellar, sadly... Just monolithic in terms of its aging pace.. Fresh and alive, super deep.. Big nose of dusty licorice meets ultra concentrated dried fruit. So concentrated yet balanced and no RS or anything like that. Crushed charcoal and woodspice, herbal notes. Nice!

2005 vintage

Enormous intensity, showing beautifully. Consider decanting, but either way, a delight.

2005 vintage

90 minute decant. High acidity and alcohol. This one never made it to the table. Used to love Dal Forno Amarones before the wine became unaffordable. This Valpo was really not very good at all.

2015 vintage

Verona, Italy - Initially on the nose dark cherry, cinnamon, “over-ripe” strawberry, supple leather. On the palate - Bright currant, lingering acidity, medium finish. Let open for 80 minutes. Evolved and integrated. Lost some of sharper acidity. Paired well with steak.

2015 vintage

Very big wine, with a taste profile reminiscent of an Aussie Shiraz. Ripe blue and black fruit, toast, spices, licorice. Still quite primary despite the age. Wouldn’t drink it on its own but goes very well with steak.

2015 vintage

Medium red color. Complex aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate, leather and spices. Ripe, fully integrated fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. Complex and long on the palate. A truly outstanding wine that is firmly in the middle of its peak drinking period.

2005 vintage

Consistent with my prior note. On the nose, blackberry, orange peel, leather, graphite and some red fruit. Massive on the palate and not showing a bit of its 20 years of age. Amazing wine at this stage with plenty of life ahead of it.

2003 vintage

Wine is in a perfect drinking window and has some life ahead of it. No detailed notes.

2003 vintage

Lovely wine. Showing power with finesse. The fruit is intense, but has evolved into a silky, smooth progression, with fine-grained tannins. It works.

2005 vintage

I had this at a friend's house, which they served with radiotore and homemade short rib ragu. I'd never had this wine before, and wanted to drop a note about it. It sang from the first moment the bottle was opened. This is a complex wine, with wonderful fruit, and quite a lot of depth. Thanks to Collin and Sarah for sharing it. What a treat.

2005 vintage

Wow! Great wine. It would have been a bit ferocious as a younger wine, but at 16 years age, it was terrific. Deep colour. Spice/coffee/cola on the nose. Rich dark fruitcake (but not stewed or over ripe) palate.

2005 vintage

Well almost 20 years down the line the wood in this is finally settling in. Call it the early part of the window. Very good and will be good for the next 10 years no problem.

2005 vintage

Trinity Wines tasting (Stavros Niarchos) : The wine shows ripe berry, cherry, a bit numb, earthy with a few dried black fruit, raisin Palate is dry, lacks depth, much leaner than expected, red cherry, liquor, licorice, floral notes, toast, med body, med acidity, tight tannins, med finish -/- I'm not sure the bottle was good but the man from the winery said it was ok

2015 vintage

Typically a blend of Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%), Croatina (5%) and Oseleta (5%) from the Monte Lodoletta vineyard. Although the wine is labeled as "Valpolicella Superiore", it's vinified almost like an Amarone: the grapes are dried in a ventilated room for 1,5 months following the harvest. After the grapes have been raisinated, the wine is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for two weeks. Aged in new oak barriques for 24 months, after the wine is filtered and bottled. The …

1995 vintage

Dal Forno Romano Virtual Tasting. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Apperance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose pronounced intensity, with aromas of thick dark red cherries, slight raisins, dark red plums, dates, roasted herbs and chestnuts, cinnamon, oak spices, dark currants. Developing. On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, high alcohol (15%), chewy high tannins, full body. Pronounced flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet dark currants, sweet oak spices, "chestnuts on an open fire", dates, dark red plums, roasted herbs …

2015 vintage

Lang kork i veldig god forfatning. Meget mørk mursteinsrød, men klar. Lukter av tørka frukt, kirsebær. Kraftig smak av mørke bær. Ingen merkbar sødme. Litt tanniner, men godt balansert. Meget god. 6 år siden jeg drakk forrige flaske, har hatt godt av den tiden. Holder enda lenger.

2003 vintage

Pop and pour. In a friend's cellar since release. We waited until the end of the meal for this, since we knew it was going to be massive. No surprise. On the nose: lovely sweet spice cake, ginger, cocoa, ripe red fruit. On the palate: good acidity, dense red fruit, spice, and soft tannin on the finish. This btl was in a wonderful place. Yum!

2005 vintage

Still a tannic beast - time doesn't seem to tame it

2005 vintage

Dal Forno Valpolicella Vertical (Nemogaarden) : Elegant cherry fruit with a precise and piercing acidity. There is hardly any sweetness left but a lot of floral notes and complex spices. Beautiful wine!

1996 vintage

Dal Forno Valpolicella Vertical (Nemogaarden) : Light and clean fruit with an elegant touch. High acidity but a very beautiful and lovely wine with lots of complex flavors.

2000 vintage

Over five (5) years since last visit. Double decanted and left to stand for four (4+) hours. Broodingly dark purple in color with intense aromas of black cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate, charred wood, and sweet spice. Densely packed with formidable structure, presenting intense flavors of spiced blackberry and cherry with smoky veiled backdrop. Sits generously on the palate retaining a firm tannic grip at the moment. Notwithstanding elevated alcohol present; rewards with long mouth-coating finish. Throws significant sediment so an …

2005 vintage

No idea what the previous note was talking about but best as I can guess that was a bad bottle. This was not. Off the list at Per Se. Decanted around 2 pm and brought out around maybe 7 pm and this wine was still young and brash and honestly almost a bit much. It softened in the glass and got a bit rounder. Still higher alc and lots of fruit. It suffered because I'd ordered in advance and thought …

2000 vintage

Boy, this did this improve since we drank our last bottle in 2010. Everything had pulled together beautifully. Ripe berries and cherries were balanced with the sweet tannins and acidity perfectly. This has probably got another decade easily, but why wait? Highly recommended.

2003 vintage

Succeeds in what it intends to be, but a little big for my tastes. Beautiful, expressive nose leads to a well balanced fruity palate. Heavily extracted with 15% alcohol, this wine will overpower most cuisine. Use it where you would a Port. Perhaps by a roaring fire after skiing.

2005 vintage

Always a spectacular bottle of wine. I wouldn’t wait too much longer if you have bottles left in your cellar.

1996 vintage

Deep colour, strong nose and depth of flavour. Much enjoyed

2003 vintage

hour plus decant, very dark and brooding, not fun as the finish is all VA, sharp and not very enjoyable. A little longer open the sharpness sensed seems to fade making this better, though still over ripe. I'm thinking of it's like smoking a cigar at the end of the day and savoring the special notes by itself. This reminds me of this, though not a wine I prefer, I can see a purpose of savoring by itself while lounging …

2005 vintage

Drinking well but easily many years left. Full bodied with ripe blackberries, currants and dark chocolate. Viscous with excellent balance with soft tannins, but still firmly structured.

2003 vintage

Bold, for sure, but I disagree that this is overbearingly so. Blackberry, black cherries, dark chocolate, spices and a bit of ash on the nose. Still very nice grip on the palate, lush but structured. Really started to sing about an hour in. IMO just entering its prime drinking window.

2005 vintage

Some subtle tannins left, but the dark fruits were mesmerizing. Well worth the wait!

2003 vintage

Some Italian Wines (Plus Ringers) to Welcome a New Restaurant to Town (Nella Kitchen & Bar, Los Olivos, CA) : I went deep this vintage and have to confess that this wine isn't really doing it for me. It's a crowd pleaser for sure. Rich and lush. Powerful aromatics of olives, chocolate and balsamico. A jumble of flavors tangle in the mouth: sweet meat, blueberry, some ripe plum. Too extracted and overoaked for my palate these days, but others will …

2005 vintage

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Dal Forno Romano, Valpolicella, Superiore Monte Lodoletta

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