Fully saturated ruby. Very deep, intense aromas of blackcurrant, plums macerated in alcohol, soy sauce, coffee and underbrush on the complex nose. Rich, dense and balanced, with nicely focused flavors of dark berries and aromatic herbs that have a noteworthy savory tang. The long finish features repeating hints of soy sauce, espresso and underbrush. Dal Forno’s is the recognized master of a uniquely powerful, ripe, and concentrated style of Amarone. Ian D'Agata

Very dark fruits on the nose with hints of bark and dried flowers. Full body, soft and silky tannins with a chewy finish. Loads of dark chocolate and berry. Flavorful and balanced.

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. ML

The 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Lodolette is darkly alluring, with a haunting bouquet of incense, exotic spice, clove, balsamic-tinged black cherries, sage and ashen stone that captivates the senses. It’s velvety in feel, with depths of ripe red and blue fruits complicated by nuances of cocoa and blood orange. A bump of cooling acidity keeps the experience fresh, even as a staining of primary concentration drenches the palate, leaving a web of fine-grained tannins and a subtle citrus twang to linger incredibly long. The 2011 is in a beautiful place, more vibrant than anticipated and seriously complex. This is a stunning performance. The 2011 was the first vintage in which Dal Forno fermented their Amarone below one gram per liter of residual sugar. It was matured in 100% new French oak.

Sweet smoke, Asian five-spice powder and cacao accents mix with crème de cassis, cured tobacco and anise notes in this seamless, full-bodied red. A dense and concentrated version, with a long, savory finish firmed by supple, well-knit tannins. AN

Marco Dal Forno was kind enough to send me this back vintage from one of the first years to show the "abnormal" heat patterns that we associate with climate change today. I remember the hot winds from North Africa that blew across Italy during the scorching summer of 2011. The Dal Forno Romano 2011 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is 20 steps beyond the most extracted wine you have ever tasted. Its 17% alcohol content is daunting and extreme, as is the wine's concentration. It shows bitter tannins with hints of tree bark and all kinds of Christmas spice. You'll notice a drop in score from my last tastings of this vintage (down from 97 given in 2019 and 96 awarded in 2017). That difference reflects my changing tastes and personal evolution. I find the wine to be intellectually fascinating, and I recognize the precision behind its realization. But I am hard-pressed to imagine a scenario in which I could pair a wine like this with the lighter fare I enjoy today. When gauging its aging potential—which is the true point of this tasting—I can confirm that the tannins have gone a long way to become more approachable. But still, this is one massive red wine that is not yet resolved. Production was 22,000 bottles.

Impenetrably deep purple ruby. Huge richness on the nose and also much more open knit than both 2010 and 2009. Intensely sweet and mouth-filling but still with the signature Dal Forno citric nerve. So very powerful and fruit driven, it almost becomes a caricature. Super-intensity on the finish and with polished tannins. Very long and almost a little syrupy. (WS)