WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
2013 began with a cold and quite rainy winter. Heavy rainfalls continued through mid-June. Bud breakage began on April 20, with flowering taking place the end of May. The season proceeded quite regularly, without major events and most importantly without any stress for the vines. There was no hail the entire year, which is uncommon for the region. The temperature remained high through mid-August, eventually tapering off to a range for better maturation without reducing acidity on the grapes. Harvest started the second week of September. Prime weather conditions during this period allowed for the grapes to be carefully picked. It is for these reasons we can say 2013 is an excellent vintage in the Valpolicella.
Blend: 70% Corvina and Corvina grossa, 20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina, and 5% Oseleta
TASTING NOTES:
This is a terrific wine that stood out—and stood tall—despite the fact that it was tasted alongside some of Dal Forno's most important vintages of the top-shelf Amarone. If that's not a full-on recommendation, I don't know what is. The 2013 Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta oozes forth with thick concentration and an inky black color. The mouthfeel is thick and impenetrable, and the senses are treated to a long succession of black fruit, tar, spice, smoke, mesquite and barbecue flavors. The wine is full-bodied and very opulent, but it carries that massive intensity with grace and precision. This Valpolicella Superiore is very nicely done.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 pts.
A remarkably concentrated red, redolent of dark-cherry ice cream, stuffed with chocolate-chip flakes that turn into meatier, earthier nuances of steak tartar and forest floor. Full-throttle and lavishly chewy, the tannins pucker all sides of the mouth with mesmerizing intensity; nevertheless they remain polished and acutely detailed, like an extravagant, wool-woven, Moroccan veil. Drink from 2025.
- James Suckling, 95 pts.
