Dal Forno Romano Dal Forno Romano Amarone della Valpolicella 2017 750ml

The 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodeoletta is deep and rich in the glass, slowly opening with autumnal spices, crushed violets, cocoa and custard. While dark and inward on the nose, it’s wonderfully open and finessed on the palate, with a pure mix of red berries and savory spices under an air of rosy inner florals. Through it all, tension builds as tannins saturate, leaving the palate drenched in primary concentration. The 2015 is incredibly long and in need of many years in the cellar to fully evolve. The balance of ripeness, structure and acid here creates a totally harmonious and classic expression. Do not pass up on this sleeping giant of an Amarone. In 2015, production was down by 45% due to hail, and the final wine finished at only one gram of residual sugar per liter. (Eric Guido)

Inky in the glass with almost no rim. Aromas of cloves, coconut, graphite, dark lush bramble fruit, plums and cherries. Full-bodied with great concentration of fruit and a super-dense and velvety palate. Extremely rich, but balanced by crisp acidity and thick yet dynamic and chewy tannins. Amazing finish of salted chocolate. A superpower Amarone with grace. Try from 2026. Will age for decades. (James Suckling)

A decadent nose of treacle tart, chocolate, tar, tons of black fruit such as blackberries and mulberries and even ash and licorice. A dense, layered mouthfeel makes for a full-bodied palate that’s explosive yet somehow so refined and pretty all at the same time. The finish goes on and on. Incredible now, but better to wait for this giant to settle well into 2020.

The ultimate statement wine from northern Italy is the 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta. The Dal Forno family skipped over the 2014 vintage, and this sunny vintage is worth the wait. Monte Lodoletta is always incredibly high in terms of fruit weight and tannins, but this edition from 2015 appears more integrated in terms of concentration and softer in terms of structure; it’s not that the wine is more accessible. It will hold the line for years and decades to come and promises to age gracefully. This vintage is instead more fleshed out and open-knit. The bouquet peels back with thick layers of black fruit, spice, campfire embers and toasted coffee bean. It’s an expensive bottle for collectors, but you get lots of bang for your buck. (Monica Larner)

With the 2016 still being held for release down the road as it slowly comes into focus, today it’s the 2017 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta that is being released into the market. This is dark, sultry and almost animalistic in nature, as crushed fall leaves and earth tones open the experience, giving way to masses of macerated black cherries, cedar shavings, spiced cookies and a lifting hint of camphor. It floods the palate with velvety textures while maintaining fantastic energy, as stimulating acidity adds unexpected vibrancy, and tart wild berries slowly saturate. While structured, the tannins are sweet, and the wine remains remarkably fresh, almost crunchy, as an air of inner rose and balsam herbs slowly fades. Frankly, I can’t believe the 2017 finished at 16% abv, because it is simply so palatable and charming. (Eric Guido)

A rich red, with good tension and energy, displaying tightly meshed flavors of blackberry preserves, fig cake, espresso crema and singed sage coiled around a core of dense but fine tannins. Tea leaf, smoky earth and mineral notes chime on the long and chewy finish. Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina. Best from 2025 through 2045. 1,350 cases made, 250 cases imported. (Alison Napjus)

A velvety, full-bodied version, loaded with blackberry coulis, baked black cherry and tar-tinged smoke flavors that ripple across the palate. Offers lovely accents of dried mint, tobacco, iron and anise that echo on the firm finish. A powerhouse, with plenty in reserve. Best from 2022 through 2032. 250 cases imported. (Alison Napjus)

A dark, brooding red that effortlessly marries a lovely range of kirsch, blackberry paste, dried mint and eucalyptus flavors with fine, sculpted tannins and a rich streak of minerality, showing lots of smoke, fresh earth and iron. This offers concentration and power, revealing even greater detail and expression as it opens in the glass, but at the same time this is an exercise in balance and restraint. Corvina, Rondinella, Oseleta and Croatina. Drink now through 2035. 1,350 cases made, 250 cases imported. (Alison Napjus)

Wafting up with lovely floral perfumes, the 2018 Amarone de la 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.

Aromas of underbrush, prune, minestrone soup and grilled bell pepper lead the nose while whiffs of French oak, leather and coconut stay in the background. The densely concentrated, tightly knit palate offers raisin, blackberry extract, clove, licorice and dried sage while assertive grainy tannins leave an astringent mouth-drying finish. (Kerin O’Keefe)