Dal Forno Romano Amarone Monte Lodoletta 2018

Falstaff
98 punten
Rich, impenetrable ruby red. Very concentrated and intense nose, opens with notes of cedar wood and cigar box, then dried plum, blackberry and wild blueberry, with dark chocolate in the background. Impressive attack on the palate, again lots of dark fruit, opens with grippy tannins in many layers, has good drinking flow despite all the concentration.

Eric Guido, Vinous
94-96 punten
Wafting up with lovely floral perfumes, the 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella is impossible to ignore, as a bouquet of dusty rose and lavender complements crushed blackberries and hints of sweet smoke. This is pure energy, seamless and silky with cooling acidity and mineral tones that unlock depths of tart wild berry fruit. A bitter twang of dark chocolate saturates the palate. The 2018 is an understated beauty. While structured, its tannins are dusty and fine, creating a web of youthful restraint as suggestions of mocha and clove slowly fade. This is the first vintage of Amarone that was able to take advantage of Dal Forno’s newest acquisition, just a kilometer from the estate—a site with Pergola-trained vines that average forty years old. The 2018 was bottled in 2021 and will be released into the market in 2025.

James Suckling 
95 punten
Dark inky color with a restrained nose of cloves, cassis, macerated violets, earth, graphite and a hint of Band-Aid. Full-bodied with a dense palate of black licorice and dark chocolate flavors, refreshing acidity and firm tannins. It’s youthful, chewy and dynamic. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.

Jancis Robinson
18/20 punten
Much denser and weightier on the palate than their Valpolicella Superiore, but it has enough acidity to balance the hint of sweetness. Abundant, grainy tannins. There are layers of raisins, dried blackberries and blueberries, chocolate, espresso, marjoram and oregano. The alcohol howls out of the glass, but that’s simply a feature of this opulent, hedonistic style of wine, not a fault.

Decanter
94 punten
The estate's older vines from its best plots are used for this Amarone. The grapes are dried for three months (compared to one and a half months for the Valpolicella Superiore) in the advanced drying room before vinifying in stainless steel and ageing for 24 months in a mix of new French and American oak barriques. Rich and intense, yet with that aromatic twist courtesy of the wet 2018 vintage, the punchy alcohol is well contained by the acidity and fine, grainy, slightly drying tannins. Dark cherry, cassis, amaro and balsamic herbs lead to a tight finish of black cherry.