Dal Forno RomanoAmarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta 2010

This is a deeply communicative and articulate wine that boasts immense power and persistence. The 2010 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is a creation of enormous beauty and unflinching intensity. The wine speaks at loud volumes with black cherry, spice, tarry smoke, barbecue marinade and grilled rosemary. Those balsam notes add length and continuity to the bouquet. In the mouth, the wine is complete and penetrating. It wraps thickly over the palate to soothe and entice your taste buds. Yet there is enough crispness to keep it from feeling cloying or too heavy. There is a point of tannic astringency on the finish that will accompany this wine over the next decade of its aging evolution. For that reason, it's best to wait before popping the cork on this memorable vinous experience.

2010 is a more considered vintage compared to the outright opulence of 2009, but it's no shrinking violet, especially in Dal Forno's hands. This has a meaty nose with savoury hedgerow fruit , surprisingly open already. I had to put an exclamation mark after writing 'elegant' in my notes, as it seems incomprehensible that a wine of this magnitude could still have such balletic balance. It is broad and juicy, with chalky grip and clean, fresh acids followed by a hint of warmth on the long finish.

Drinking Window 2019 - 2050

Aromas of roses and other flowers with a deep fruit intensity. Full-bodied, dense and ultra-fine with a beautiful texture. Lots of new wood now but this will amalgamate with time into the wine. Fabulous potential. Drink or hold.

Like a gymnast, this focused red shows both power and grace. Finely meshed flavors of blackberry puree, fig cake and Earl Grey tea leaf are framed by refined, dusty tannins, with a lasting finish expands on the palate with spice and smoky mineral details. Drink now through 2030. 450 cases imported. — AN

Add this wine to this Personal Wine List

Add this wine to this Personal Wine List
 

Learn more about Personal Wine Lists

Related Links   Additional Tastings User Notes

Related articles on our website for ROMANO DAL FORNO Amarone della Valpolicella 2010

Dal Forno Amarone, a Different Wine

I never thought much of Valpolicella until my first visit to Italy in 1987, when I met Giuseppe Quintarelli. His wines were a revelation. In his hands, Corvina, Rondinella and the other little-known grapes of the region made a dry red wine of real...

February 22, 2007

Bright Spots in a Dull Region

April 30th, 2001 Bright Spots in a Dull Region Italy's Veneto struggles to fulfill its potential By James Suckling Of all the wine regions in Italy, Veneto may be the most frustrating. Some outstanding red and white wines made by a handful of producers...

April 29, 2001

Italian Wine Legend Giuseppe Quintarelli Dies

Giuseppe Quintarelli, one of Valpolicella's most legendary winemakers, died Jan. 15. He was 84. Quintarelli had suffered from Parkinson's disease. "[He] was the guru of Valpolicella," said Romano Dal Forno, who studied under Quintarelli. "He was an...

March 18, 2012

Amarones, Lunch and Dinner

I had lunch on Saturday with a friend from Los Angeles and a couple of his wine collector buddies in Santa Monica at a restaurant called Locanda Portofino. It was good, simple Italian food—things like soft and creamy burrata cheese with Parma ham or a...

January 13, 2008

Veni, Vidi … Vino!

For four days every spring, Verona becomes the center of the wine world. Vinitaly, one of the principal global wine fairs, takes over this beautiful, ancient city and turns it into a non-stop spectacle. Wine Spectator helped kick off the trade show,...

April 20, 2016

See more search results