-
99
/ 100
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97
/ 100
Tasting Notes
The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is another extreme wine from Romano Dal Forno and his family. It is almost impossible to wrap your head around the intensity and richness that is so expertly delivered by this monumental wine. The bouquet is sweet and heavy with luscious tones of black fruit, prune, dried rose bud, cherry liqueur, spice and tarry asphalt. The wine oozes forth with impactful thickness and generosity. Rather than a companion to a meal, this wine is a meal in itself. It goes over and beyond traditional Amarone.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity
Classification: Red
Variety: Corvina
Vintage: 2011
Bottle Size: 750ml (Bottle)
Country: Italy
Region: Veneto, Valpolicella
Alcohol %: 17.5%
Cellaring: 15 Plus Years
Scores
99 / 100"The strongest wine in my selection, yet this magnificent Amarone's alcohol is barely visible thanks to its astonishing depth, texture and sumptuousness. Pressed black fruits seep with fruit essences; smoke and cinders; herbal complexities; teasing floral notes, all engraved into a palate that expresses creamy finesse but without a trace of superfluous fat, heat or obviousness. Beautifully crafted, as dignified as any grand Barolo."
- Decanter
97 / 100
"This is a real bruiser of a wine, and it marks the first of three excellent back-to-back vintages (2011, 2012 and 2013). The growing season was full of surprises and many farming decisions had to be made at the spur of the moment. The 2011 growing season started off cool, but there was an explosion of heat in mid-August that remained intense until a final cooling period at harvest. Fruit ripening had been behind schedule, but that August heat helped to pick up the pace. (By the way, this is also the year Michele Dal Forno got married). The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is an incredible wine that has magically managed to maintain the fresh acidity associated with the cooler part of the growing season. It also shows the inky black concentration and ripeness that is reflective of the hottest part of the summer. I am impressed by the tannic management, as the wine is silky and fine at this young stage; however, the underlying structure promises a long aging future, should you chose to put your bottle aside. Overall, this vintage is slightly more accessible and ready to drink if you don't have the patience for cellar aging"
- Monica Larner
