Probably the best Valpo from Dal Forno tasted in recent memory. Took about an hour to open up in the glass. Such fantastic persistence and youth are shown on the palate without being overripe. The Amarone takes about 30 years to come around but the Valpo is ready by 15-17 years and way cheaper. Get as much as you want of these because it still have at least 10 years left.
Medium red color. Aromas of black cherry kirsch, licorice and prune. Fully integrated medium-bodied fruit in the mouth with very ggod depth and length. Silky but a little tired on the palate. While enjoyable, bottle was clearly on the downside of its peak drinking period. Drink up!
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(NOTE: The wine I tasted does not indicate Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta on the bottle.) Typical Dal Forno, deep, brooding and well oaked. Beginning to show its age, and it's drying out a bit. Drinkable now and for another few years.
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Typically a blend of Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%), Croatina (5%) and Oseleta (5%). Although the wine is labeled as "Valpolicella Superiore", it's vinified almost like an Amarone: the grapes are dried in a ventilated room for 1,5 months following the harvest. After the grapes have been raisinated, the wine is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for two weeks. Aged in new oak barriques for 24 months, after the wine is filtered and bottled. The wine is not released before aging in bottles for a minimum of three years. 14,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Rather deep and quite opaque cherry-red color with an evolved maroon hue. The nose feels dense, ripe and sweet-toned with fragrant aromas of boysenberries and cherry marmalade, some ripe plummy tones, a little bit of raisiny dark fruit, light oaky nuances of savory wood spice and cacao, a balsamic hint of VA and a touch of old leather. The wine is ripe, quite concentrated and textural on the palate with a full body and subtly sweetish flavors of cherry marmalade and bilberry, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light woody notes of savory oak spice and cacao nibs, a hint of pruney dark fruit and a balsamic touch of VA. The overall feel is quite muscular and structured, thanks to the high acidity and quite ample tannins that contribute both to the dense texture and moderately grippy structure of the wine. The finish is rich, textural and moderately grippy with bold flavors of cherry marmalade, savory wood spice, some pruney tones, a little bit of sweet bilberry, light balsamic notes of VA, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of exotic spices.
Other people guessed Californian Merlot, Australian Shiraz and other new world wines, whereas I immediately thought that this tasted like Amarone - probably 15-20 years old - and guessed accordingly. I was told it was close enough to be correct, but when prompted to guess the producer, I never thought of Dal Forno. This is because all the Dal Forno wines I've tasted (that have been noticeably younger) have been so heavily oaky that I never thought the oak influence would subside so quickly. I have been told the wines are completely different after 20-25 years of aging, and now that I've tasted one, I must say that it really seems to be the case: although the oak influence still lingers there, this doesn't taste like a concentrated milkshake of dark chocolate and toasted oak spice, but instead a surprisingly refined wine that has those balsamic and dried-fruit characteristics typical of Amarone, but enough sense of finesse and balance to come across as fine wine, not an over-oaked blockbuster. I'm positively surprised. Although I'm not fully convinced if the wine is actually worth the price (75€), this is nevertheless probably the best Dal Forno wine I've tasted.
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Dal Forno Valpolicella Vertical (Nemogaarden): Elegant cherry fruit with a decent depth but it seems very much off balance. The alcohol is dominating and there is not a lot of joy for me in drinking this.
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cloudy in appearance, like prune juice, and lighter around the edges. other than plum, the nose is all organics and earth, with tar, smoke, olives and chocolate. with an hour of air, it opens up and the palate is smooth and velvety. some tannin lingering, flavours are quite herbal and raisin-like, slightly medicinal but not offensive. surely past its prime but this still makes for a rich and concentrated amarone. 91+
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Developed nicely with a 50 minute decant. Savory aromas of soy sauce, leather, dried herbs, dark cherries. Fading a bit, I would drink it if you have it.
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Wow, positive Überraschung. Waren im Sommer auf dem Weingut und Luca erzählte uns, dass 99 sehr schwierig war. Der Wein steht in voller Kraft da und entwickelt sich nach einer Stunde deutlich. Klasse.
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Good fill and cork. Decanted for four hours; heavy sediment. Somewhat cloudy garnet with bricking. Flowery nose of plum, tobacco and spices. Full-bodied tart fruit on the palate, quite dry, and no longer a match for its lively acids and chewy tannins. Medium length finish. At the end of its drinking life.
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Saturday night wines: Blind. Very dark, violent, bark, tannin and acidity, dried fruits, dry tobacco (not typical sweet pipe tobacco), long. To appreciate it, you have to go with the ride. I liked the fare far more than others.
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TN: Quintarelli, Dal Forno, Bussola, Caprai, Bea ++: This got 7 hours of breathing. very lightly corked, but TCA nonetheless. More noticeable on the palate - just not much there. Also on the nose as well. A shame, but the chef used this to cook.
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Initially out of the decanter typical hints of plum, raisin, menthol and liquorice but incredibly restrained. The transition to the palate and finish was short and you can definitely tell the difference to the Amarone which has more muscle, structure and back bone. Nonetheless at least for the nose this was enjoyable for the dinner we had.
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I have had this wine on multiple occasions and it has yet to impress me. My recent bottle was decanted for 3 hours. Not much going on. Wine never opened. Weak bouquet and palate. In my humble opinion Dal Forno Amarones and Valpolicellos, while very expensive, are no match for those of Quintarelli.
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Beautiful ripe valpolicella, very sweet and balanced, long finish. This wine is really good however on a QPR scale it's not as fantastic as on an absolute basis...
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Deep red-violet. Just after decanting scents of tobacco, leather, earth and a green touch og pepper, unfortunately quite much alcohol in the nose, that remains in the glass even after 2-3 hours. Medium bodied, with nice fruit, quite pleasant tannins. Long aftertaste, quite nice balanced, the alcohol is not overwelming in the taste. Drinks well now, the evolution in the decanter was not positive, so i believe this wine should be consumed over the next 3-5 years.
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I'm not sure if this one was flawed or not, but it was impressively bad. VA was over the top, very little fruit and not enjoyable at all. I've had these wines in the past and they were nothing like this one. Too bad.
A real crowd pleaser. Tar, violet and raspberry on the nose. Wonderfully energetic with great fruit and acidity, plenty of structure but definitely takes a backseat to the wonderful black fruit expression. Utterly delicious.
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A lot like the 98 but even more dense and powerful. A lot of fruit, mostly blackcurrant, with vanilla and freshly ground coffee. Still, it does have a long and rounded length with only a slight sweetness that doesn't dominate. Brutal but balanced, seems to capture my experience :-)
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Mix of different Dal Forno and Quintarelli wines (My house): A lot like the 98 but even more powerful and almost violent. Heavy blackberries, vanilla and coffee. Still a very long and rouded aftertaste with only a little bit of sweetness which doesn't dominate.
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Dark color and distinctive nose of blackberry, cassis, licorice, tar, some smoke. Extremely fullbodied and long, smooth, silky tannins. It is a blockbuster but no overkill, you want to finish the bottle...
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Initially tasted immediately upon opening. Tons of barnyard and little to no fruit, on both nose and palate. Barnyard started to dissipate after an hour or so, but still pretty closed, not much fruit. Resealed for next evening. 24 hours later it was totally different than previous night. Tons of blueberry/blackberry with a touch of vanilla on the nose. Massive fruit (same black fruit as the nose) on the palate. No sweetness yet, still quite dry, tannins very apparent. Should improve with a few years in the cellar.
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Dark ruby/black colour. Lovely aromas of earth, smoke, raisins, black cherry, meat, violets, and plums. Full-bodied, showing hints of wood, minerals, black fruit. Long finish, 40-45s, with black fruit. Needs lots of time.
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11/27/2023 - Dibbs Likes this wine: 94 Points
Probably the best Valpo from Dal Forno tasted in recent memory. Took about an hour to open up in the glass. Such fantastic persistence and youth are shown on the palate without being overripe. The Amarone takes about 30 years to come around but the Valpo is ready by 15-17 years and way cheaper. Get as much as you want of these because it still have at least 10 years left.
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1/7/2023 - hsacks Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium red color. Aromas of black cherry kirsch, licorice and prune. Fully integrated medium-bodied fruit in the mouth with very ggod depth and length. Silky but a little tired on the palate. While enjoyable, bottle was clearly on the downside of its peak drinking period. Drink up!
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10/30/2022 - oakville72 Likes this wine: 91 Points
(NOTE: The wine I tasted does not indicate Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta on the bottle.) Typical Dal Forno, deep, brooding and well oaked. Beginning to show its age, and it's drying out a bit. Drinkable now and for another few years.
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5/6/2022 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points
Typically a blend of Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%), Croatina (5%) and Oseleta (5%). Although the wine is labeled as "Valpolicella Superiore", it's vinified almost like an Amarone: the grapes are dried in a ventilated room for 1,5 months following the harvest. After the grapes have been raisinated, the wine is fermented and macerated in stainless steel for two weeks. Aged in new oak barriques for 24 months, after the wine is filtered and bottled. The wine is not released before aging in bottles for a minimum of three years. 14,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Rather deep and quite opaque cherry-red color with an evolved maroon hue. The nose feels dense, ripe and sweet-toned with fragrant aromas of boysenberries and cherry marmalade, some ripe plummy tones, a little bit of raisiny dark fruit, light oaky nuances of savory wood spice and cacao, a balsamic hint of VA and a touch of old leather. The wine is ripe, quite concentrated and textural on the palate with a full body and subtly sweetish flavors of cherry marmalade and bilberry, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light woody notes of savory oak spice and cacao nibs, a hint of pruney dark fruit and a balsamic touch of VA. The overall feel is quite muscular and structured, thanks to the high acidity and quite ample tannins that contribute both to the dense texture and moderately grippy structure of the wine. The finish is rich, textural and moderately grippy with bold flavors of cherry marmalade, savory wood spice, some pruney tones, a little bit of sweet bilberry, light balsamic notes of VA, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of exotic spices.
Other people guessed Californian Merlot, Australian Shiraz and other new world wines, whereas I immediately thought that this tasted like Amarone - probably 15-20 years old - and guessed accordingly. I was told it was close enough to be correct, but when prompted to guess the producer, I never thought of Dal Forno. This is because all the Dal Forno wines I've tasted (that have been noticeably younger) have been so heavily oaky that I never thought the oak influence would subside so quickly. I have been told the wines are completely different after 20-25 years of aging, and now that I've tasted one, I must say that it really seems to be the case: although the oak influence still lingers there, this doesn't taste like a concentrated milkshake of dark chocolate and toasted oak spice, but instead a surprisingly refined wine that has those balsamic and dried-fruit characteristics typical of Amarone, but enough sense of finesse and balance to come across as fine wine, not an over-oaked blockbuster. I'm positively surprised. Although I'm not fully convinced if the wine is actually worth the price (75€), this is nevertheless probably the best Dal Forno wine I've tasted.
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11/18/2021 - canan wrote: 91 Points
Dal Forno Valpolicella Vertical (Nemogaarden): Elegant cherry fruit with a decent depth but it seems very much off balance. The alcohol is dominating and there is not a lot of joy for me in drinking this.
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11/7/2021 - #1 or #2? Likes this wine: 91 Points
cloudy in appearance, like prune juice, and lighter around the edges. other than plum, the nose is all organics and earth, with tar, smoke, olives and chocolate. with an hour of air, it opens up and the palate is smooth and velvety. some tannin lingering, flavours are quite herbal and raisin-like, slightly medicinal but not offensive. surely past its prime but this still makes for a rich and concentrated amarone. 91+
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4/7/2021 - AudunG wrote: 88 Points
Loads of sediments. Soft and opulent. Full bodied is an understatement. Impressive, but two glasses was enough.
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8/24/2019 - railgunner Likes this wine: 93 Points
Developed nicely with a 50 minute decant. Savory aromas of soy sauce, leather, dried herbs, dark cherries. Fading a bit, I would drink it if you have it.
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12/6/2018 - Sir-Harrie wrote: 92 Points
Wow, positive Überraschung. Waren im Sommer auf dem Weingut und Luca erzählte uns, dass 99 sehr schwierig war. Der Wein steht in voller Kraft da und entwickelt sich nach einer Stunde deutlich. Klasse.
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5/31/2018 - Boomer Sooner Likes this wine: 89 Points
Wasn’t a great vintage. A little disappointing for a Dal Forno. Probably past it’s prime. Still enjoyable.
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2/13/2017 - Sirmika wrote: 92 Points
Time to drink. But wonderful
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2/5/2017 - Sir-Harrie wrote: 91 Points
Tiefdunkle fast schwarze Farbe, klar. Tolle Aromen nach Pflaume, etwas Kirsche, Cassis, Röstaromen mit Tabak. Präsent und filigran.
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11/3/2016 - cos82 wrote: flawed
Lightly corked on nose and palate which got worse and stronger as the night went on. Disappointing and disgusting.
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1/19/2016 - wculpepper Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good fill and cork. Decanted for four hours; heavy sediment. Somewhat cloudy garnet with bricking. Flowery nose of plum, tobacco and spices. Full-bodied tart fruit on the palate, quite dry, and no longer a match for its lively acids and chewy tannins. Medium length finish. At the end of its drinking life.
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1/18/2014 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
Saturday night wines: Blind. Very dark, violent, bark, tannin and acidity, dried fruits, dry tobacco (not typical sweet pipe tobacco), long. To appreciate it, you have to go with the ride. I liked the fare far more than others.
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3/29/2013 - Sirmika wrote: 93 Points
More acidity more juicy than vintage 1998. but still a superb wine. Love it.
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2/10/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: flawed
TN: Quintarelli, Dal Forno, Bussola, Caprai, Bea ++: This got 7 hours of breathing. very lightly corked, but TCA nonetheless. More noticeable on the palate - just not much there. Also on the nose as well. A shame, but the chef used this to cook.
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9/1/2011 - Chrisw97 wrote: 90 Points
Initially out of the decanter typical hints of plum, raisin, menthol and liquorice but incredibly restrained. The transition to the palate and finish was short and you can definitely tell the difference to the Amarone which has more muscle, structure and back bone. Nonetheless at least for the nose this was enjoyable for the dinner we had.
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4/17/2011 - cardsandwine wrote:
I have had this wine on multiple occasions and it has yet to impress me. My recent bottle was decanted for 3 hours. Not much going on. Wine never opened. Weak bouquet and palate. In my humble opinion Dal Forno Amarones and Valpolicellos, while very expensive, are no match for those of Quintarelli.
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2/7/2011 - G_H Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful ripe valpolicella, very sweet and balanced, long finish. This wine is really good however on a QPR scale it's not as fantastic as on an absolute basis...
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10/31/2009 - jordidahl wrote: 90 Points
Deep red-violet. Just after decanting scents of tobacco, leather, earth and a green touch og pepper, unfortunately quite much alcohol in the nose, that remains in the glass even after 2-3 hours. Medium bodied, with nice fruit, quite pleasant tannins. Long aftertaste, quite nice balanced, the alcohol is not overwelming in the taste. Drinks well now, the evolution in the decanter was not positive, so i believe this wine should be consumed over the next 3-5 years.
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12/24/2008 - RossM wrote: 70 Points
I'm not sure if this one was flawed or not, but it was impressively bad. VA was over the top, very little fruit and not enjoyable at all. I've had these wines in the past and they were nothing like this one. Too bad.
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7/24/2008 - Eric wrote:
A real crowd pleaser. Tar, violet and raspberry on the nose. Wonderfully energetic with great fruit and acidity, plenty of structure but definitely takes a backseat to the wonderful black fruit expression. Utterly delicious.
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6/15/2008 - Employee500 wrote: 93 Points
Delicious Valpolicella...classic flavors but concentration is intense. Black cherry, blackberry and cassis. Rich and ripe.
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10/10/2007 - canan wrote:
A lot like the 98 but even more dense and powerful. A lot of fruit, mostly blackcurrant, with vanilla and freshly ground coffee. Still, it does have a long and rounded length with only a slight sweetness that doesn't dominate. Brutal but balanced, seems to capture my experience :-)
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10/5/2007 - canan wrote:
Mix of different Dal Forno and Quintarelli wines (My house): A lot like the 98 but even more powerful and almost violent. Heavy blackberries, vanilla and coffee. Still a very long and rouded aftertaste with only a little bit of sweetness which doesn't dominate.
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5/19/2007 - humagne wrote: 95 Points
Dark color and distinctive nose of blackberry, cassis, licorice, tar, some smoke. Extremely fullbodied and long, smooth, silky tannins. It is a blockbuster but no overkill, you want to finish the bottle...
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3/6/2005 - Mikehom wrote:
Initially tasted immediately upon opening. Tons of barnyard and little to no fruit, on both nose and palate. Barnyard started to dissipate after an hour or so, but still pretty closed, not much fruit. Resealed for next evening. 24 hours later it was totally different than previous night. Tons of blueberry/blackberry with a touch of vanilla on the nose. Massive fruit (same black fruit as the nose) on the palate. No sweetness yet, still quite dry, tannins very apparent. Should improve with a few years in the cellar.
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1/26/2005 - futronic wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby/black colour. Lovely aromas of earth, smoke, raisins, black cherry, meat, violets, and plums. Full-bodied, showing hints of wood, minerals, black fruit. Long finish, 40-45s, with black fruit. Needs lots of time.
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