Description
This special library release from Dal Forno Romano includes one bottle each of Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta 2006, 2008 and 2009 vintage. This set is sold as one unit. Bottles cannot be sold separately.
Wine Advocate
2006: The 2006 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta was born in a vintage that was not easy: It saw hail and above-average rainfall for much of the growing season. This expression opens to an inky dark appearance and heavy aromas of dried fruit, pressed blackberries and sun-dried prunes. There is a slightly sweeter side to this vintage (the residual sugar is up to ten grams per liter), and the mouthfeel offers enormous volume and richness. You get some jammy and raisiny fruit at the back. Like the 1990 vintage also tastes in this retrospective, this bottle from the 2006 vintage was slow to open and felt a bit closed initially. In fact, I gave it 94 points at that time. However, I recently opened a bottle of this same wine that I had in my cellar, and it was just stunning. It showed none of the shyness that I described above. Inspired by that second magical bottle, I went back and adjusted the drinking window and my score to the one you see here. 97+ points
2008: The 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta marks a return to a slightly cooler vintage with a longer growing season slowed down during the summer’s moderate temperatures. Indeed, harvest was wrapped up during the first days of November. The blend is mostly Corvina, at about 60%, with smaller parts Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina and Oseleta. The new Dal Forno winery was finished in 2008, complete with the unique vacuum-sealed fermentation tasks that help to avoid any intrusive oxygen during winemaking. Indeed, this wine is balanced and elegant with fruit that is still crunchy and very much alive. The tannins are firm and nicely integrated into the wine’s thick, fleshy consistency. This vintage is characterized by a very elegant and graceful approach, which must be taken into context given the enormity of a wine of this caliber. Happily, there is no doubt that this vintage should still evolve steadily over time. 96 points
2009: The Dal Forno family considered the idea of releasing their Amarone ten years after the harvest. If that plan had been implemented, this would be the vintage on the market now. The 2009 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is a full and generous expression that delivers thick lines and robust flavors of dried blackberry, camphor ash, exotic cedar wood, licorice and tarry road pavement. This vintage saw average temperatures throughout the growing season with a few hailstorms along the way. Very dry weather led to some mild drought in July and August, with ensuing ripening and concentration of the clusters. I found this monumental wine to be irresistible when I first tasted it five years ago, and I consider it to have improved since then. This is one of the most complete and comprehensive vintages produced at Dal Forno, and it gives us an ample 360-degree view onto the might, brawn and potential of this icon wine from the Veneto. Its evolutionary track shows no sign of slowing down. 99 points
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