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Dal Forno Romano Amarone Della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta 2008 750ml

size
750ml
country
Italy
region
Veneto
appellation
Valpolicella
WA
96
Additional vintages
WA
96
Rated 96 by Wine Advocate
Production was skipped over in 2007 due to extreme hail damage. The fruit that would normally be destined to Amarone went to the lower tier Valpolicella Superiore instead. 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.
Image of bottle
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Dal Forno Romano Amarone Della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta 2008 750ml

SKU 926713
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More Details
barrel

Vintage: 2008

2008 saw very high yields across wineries in much of the southern hemisphere, as a result of highly favorable climatic conditions. Although in many areas, these high yields brought with them something of a drop in overall quality, this could not be said for South Australia's wines, which were reportedly excellent. Indeed, the 2008 Shiraz harvest in South Australia is said to be one of the most successful in recent decades, and western Australia's Chardonnays are set to be ones to watch out for. New Zealand's Pinot Noir harvest was also very good, with wineries in Martinborough reportedly very excited about this particular grape and the characteristics it revealed this year. Pinot Noir also grew very well in the United States, and was probably the most successful grape varietal to come out of California in 2008, with Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley delivering fantastic results from this grape. Elsewhere in United States, Washington State and Oregon had highly successful harvests in 2008 despite some early worries about frost. However, it was France who had the best of the weather and growing conditions in 2008, and this year was one of the great vintages for Champagne, the Médoc in Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes leading the way. Italy, too, shared many of these ideal conditions, with the wineries in Tuscany claiming that their Chianti Classicos of 2008 will be ones to collect, and Piedmont's Barberesco and Barolo wines will be recognized as amongst the finest of the past decade.
green grapes

Varietal: Corvina Blend

Corvina grapes are most commonly associated with the Veneto region of Italy, where they have been grown successfully for centuries, and are a vital component of the region's viticultural identity. The Corvina varietal is famed around the world for its inclusion in such fine wines as Amarone and Valpolicella, where it is blended with small quantities of other grape varietals to produce wines of exceptional character and balance. The grapes themselves have a naturally high level of acidity, which often results in an aftertaste of bitter almonds. However, this bitterness is quite a sought for feature of this varietal, as it balances beautifully with the sour cherry notes also associated with the grape. Corvina grapes have a wonderfully potential for aging, and this process mellows the bitterness and acids present in the fruit, resulting in soft, complex and highly admired wines.
barrel

Region: Veneto

Veneto in north-eastern Italy has always been associated with viticulture, being one of the most historically important regions in Italy and Europe at large, and having a strong tradition of trade and innovation. The history of the region has clearly had an effect on the wine which is produced there, as the influence of neighboring countries such as Austria is clear in the refreshing, clean and alpine flavored white wines which are typical of Veneto's wine culture and present in the excellent and famous Soave wines. Although over fifty-five percent of the ninety thousand hectares Veneto has under vine is used for the production of white wines, the region also produces some superb red wines which use a wide range of native and imported grape varietals. These include Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside more traditional red grapes associated with Italian wines.
fields

Country: Italy

For several decades in the mid to late twentieth century, Italy's reputation for quality wines took a fairly serious blow. This was brought about partly due to lack of regulation in certain regions, and too much regulation in others. This led to several wineries in the beautiful and highly fertile region of Tuscany making the bold move to work outside of the law, which they saw as responsible for the drop in quality in Tuscan wines. They believed that they had the expertise and the generations of experience necessary with which to make truly excellent, world class wines, and set about doing just that. These 'Super Tuscans', as they came to be known, quickly inspired the rest of Italy to improve their produce, and now, Italian wine producers in the twenty-first century are widely recognised to be amongst the best in the world. Regulation and law began to change, and wine drinkers across the globe woke up to the outstanding wines coming out of Italy, which are continuing to improve and impress to this day.