2014 Valpolicella Superiore
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Tasting notes
Dal Forno didn’t make any Amarone in 2014 – meaning the Valpolicella benefitted from the estate’s very finest fruit. The grapes are picked then dried for 45 days, creating a particularly rich and complex wine – an Amarone by most producers’ standards. The 2014 is plush and decadent. The nose is exotic, layered with aromas of cocoa, cloves, kirsch and damson, cloaked in a vanilla sweetness from the new oak (two years, 100% new). Intoxicating, the wine shifts every time you go back to the glass. There’s a tea-like note that is so Italianate, while the palate has a sour-cherry twist of freshness to offset the richness of almost viscous dark, dried fruit. The oak dominates the finish at the moment, the tannins firm and cedary, needing a little more time to integrate. Warming yet fresh, this is a wine of real finesse and depth.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Eric Guido, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2014 is a unique rendition of Dal Forno’s Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta. It's a remarkably pretty wine, displaying crushed ripe strawberries and plums with cinnamon, clove, vanilla bean and a cooling hint of mint. The textures are velvety, coating all that they touch in glycerol fruit concentration, yet somehow coming across as zesty and spry, contrasting weight with saturating notes of tart blackberry and savory spice. There’s a bit of a lull in the midpalate, yet it hardly takes away from the experience. At times, the Monte Lodoletta can seem almost salty, especially through its long, mouthwatering finish, where hints of cherry pits and herbs linger. This atypical yet truly enjoyable expression is the result of the extremely difficult 2014 vintage, when hail damaged and reduced the crop in the lower-elevation vineyards, followed by rain from August through September. As a result, Dal Forno decided not to produce their Amarone, and to instead focus all of their attention on the Valpolicella. The result is a wine that no Dal Forno fan should miss, but be aware that production was down 30% from an average year.
A beautiful, polished red with dried-berry, plum, floral and cedar aromas. Full body and a flavorful finish. Extremely refined and polished, more so than many past vintages. Already gorgeous, but needs a year or two to come together. Better after 2022.
About the producer
Along with Giuseppe Quintarelli, Dal Forno Romano makes the best wines in the Veneto. The history of Dal Forno Romano, however, is much shorter, and its rise to fame much faster.