Dal Forno Romano’s Valpolicella Superiore “Vigneto Monte Lodoletta” 2020 comes from one of the most closely followed, quality-driven estates in Veneto. Founded in the early 1980s by Romano Dal Forno after training with Giuseppe Quintarelli, the family winery in the Illasi Valley has become a benchmark for Valpolicella by applying unusually exacting viticulture and a decidedly modern, high-investment approach in the cellar.
This 2020 is a Valpolicella Superiore DOC sourced from the estate’s Monte Lodoletta vineyard in Val d’Illasi, on the eastern edge of the appellation. The blend is built from the region’s traditional varieties—Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina, and Oseleta—and the style is shaped by a partial appassimento: grapes are dried for roughly 45 days in temperature-controlled rooms before fermentation. That Amarone-adjacent technique is central to the wine’s concentration and structure. Reported alcohol for the wine sits around the mid-14% range (sources cite approximately 14.1% to 14.5%). Aging details vary by source as well, described either as about 24 months in new French oak or longer élevage including some American oak, followed by extended bottle aging prior to release.
The critical picture is emphatically strong. James Suckling awards an excellent 97 points, calling it “a perfumed and elegant wine” with aromas ranging from “balsamic” and “coconut” to “dark bramble fruit, jasmine, mulberries, red cherries and chocolate.” He stresses that it is “spicy rather than fruity,” and on the palate highlights “salted chocolate flavors,” a “full body,” and a texture that is “crisp, zesty and velvety, with creamy tannins and a graphite finish.” Importantly for a wine of this density, Suckling notes it “shows tension despite its concentrated style.”
Release is slated for January 2027; per Suckling, “Try then or hold,” a clear signal that the estate is positioning this as a long-lived, cellar-worthy Valpolicella Superiore rather than a near-term red.
