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Romano Dal Forno's 'Monte Lodoletta' Valpolicella Superiore is a baby Amarone: Corvina grapes dried six weeks, then 36 months in new oak. Blackberry, plum, chocolate over velvety, age-worthy tannins. A cult Val d'Illasi red drinkers rate highly.
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Built like a baby Amarone, the wine layers blueberry, blackberry and chocolate over potent but velvety tannins after 36 months in new oak barrels. James Suckling scored the wine 98 points.
Six weeks of grape drying and three years in new small oak barrels give a deep, slow-building nose. The nose opens on blueberry, blackberry and cherry, then sweet spice, cloves and a coconut note from the oak. Air brings the dried-fruit lift of the dried grapes, with a cool thread of mint and graphite.
Black cherry
Blackberry
Blueberry
Plum
Prune
Cinnamon
Liquorice
Vanilla
ChocolateFull-bodied and concentrated off the gravel-rich Val d'Illasi terraces. Yet the potent tannins are polished to velvet. Chocolate and jammy sweet spice fill the mid-palate, framed by the 70% French, 30% American new oak. Meanwhile the roughly 14.1% alcohol stays balanced by long, refreshing acidity.
The finish is long and savoury. It closes on graphite and licorice with a dried-fruit persistence and a refreshing acid lift that keeps the weight in check.
A cult Val d'Illasi 'baby Amarone' that drinkers like, year after year. It sits just below the estate's Amarone in the three-wine range, rewards a decade in the cellar, and is built for collectors and special occasions rather than midweek pouring.
UK shelf prices run from around 95 to 126 pounds across the stocked vintages, from just two retailers. That reflects an estate that makes only about 5,000 cases a year across all three wines.
75cl · 2007: £125.00, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2014: £98.20, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2015: £125.50, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2016: £111.10, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2017: £100.00, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2018: £124.20, 1 UK retailer
75cl · 2019: £119.90, 1 UK retailer
Scores below weigh the wine's Amarone-method structure, cellar potential and icon-producer pricing against everyday drinking and beginner appeal.
A cult, single-cru Dal Forno bottling at three figures is an occasion wine in every sense, from the producer's prestige to the price.
Appassimento concentration plus 36 months in new barrique build a 20-year wine; Suckling places its peak around a decade from release.
Full-bodied with potent but polished tannins and the long acidity Suckling flags, it is a versatile match for braises, game and aged cheese.
At a 95 to 126 pound UK floor it sits far above the Valpolicella Superiore median near 20 pounds; the value lies in Amarone-method quality and rarity, not price.
A powerful, oak-framed, expensive icon wine; rewarding but demanding, and a steep first step into Valpolicella for a newcomer.
Cellar-built, high-priced and structured; the opposite of a midweek pour, and far above any everyday price band.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
A compact view of what the Valpolicella denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
Vinous rated the 2015 at 94 and the 2016 at 95, both warm, structured Veneto years. The 2014 was a cooler, rainier vintage that leaned on the estate's relentless grape selection.
A warm, generous vintage that drinks a touch softer and earlier than the 2016, while still carrying the new-oak frame to age comfortably.
A classic, balanced and fresh Valpolicella vintage, arguably the most complete of the four here; Vinous's Eric Guido rated it 95.
A warm, generous vintage that drinks a touch softer and earlier than the 2016, while still carrying the new-oak frame to age comfortably.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Romano Dal Forno founded the estate in 1983 after studying under Amarone master Giuseppe Quintarelli. The single-vineyard 'Monte Lodoletta' is now farmed and made by his son Marco to Amarone standards.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Valpolicella is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Valpolicella falls within Veneto, covering Verona: 19 communes from the Classico valleys through Valpantena to the Illasi hills. The denomination is further divided into 2 sub-zones.
Wine route
Half day · 5 stops
Open the driveWine route
1 day · 7 stops
Open the drive
Winery
Illasi
Made at Dal Forno Romano, Illasi. Directions
Wine routes in the zone: Valpolicella Classico Loop, Strada del Vino Soave.
The Superiore gets the same six-week drying and ruthless bunch selection as the estate's Amarone, with only around 5,000 cases made across all three wines.
Every vintage rests three years in new oak, 70% French and 30% American since 2013, a barrel and cellar cost most Valpolicella never carries.
Gravel-rich alluvial terraces are planted at nearly 13,000 vines per hectare and farmed for a tiny crop per vine to drive concentration.
Romano and now Marco Dal Forno rank among Valpolicella's most collected names, pushing UK prices to 95 to 126 pounds against a category median nearer 20.
At 2026 HMRC rates a still wine up to 15% ABV carries 2.67 pounds of duty plus 20% VAT, roughly 21 pounds of a 113-pound UK bottle.
Near-identical farming aside, the wine wears the less exalted Superiore appellation, keeping it well below the estate's own Amarone, which sells at a multiple.
The wine's grip and concentration call for slow-braised beef, game and aged hard cheese; beef, venison and lamb are its most common partners at the table.
The wine's potent tannins need protein and fat to soften them. Long-braised beef and veal coat the palate with gelatine and collagen, taming the grip and letting the dried-fruit sweetness through.
Try with: Brasato al Barolo · Ossobuco alla Milanese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
Appassimento concentration gives this a full body that matches the weight of game and big roasts. Neither flavour buries the other, so the wine's savoury depth meets the meat head on.
Try with: Venison Stew · Beef wellington · Sunday Roast Beef · More pairings →
Lamb's fat and the wine's structure meet in the middle: the long, refreshing acidity Suckling notes cuts through the richness while the tannins scrub the palate clean between bites.
Try with: Lamb shank · Lamb chops · Rack of lamb · More pairings →
The crystalline, nutty savour of long-aged hard cheese bridges to the wine's chocolate, sweet spice and dried-fruit notes, an aromatic echo that flatters both.
Try with: Cheese board · aged Parmigiano · Pecorino · More pairings →
Duck's richer, gamier meat stands up to the wine where leaner poultry would vanish, and the fat softens the tannic frame much as it does with red meat.
Try with: Roast Duck · Duck breast
Chilli heat amplifies the 14% alcohol and oak, turning the wine hot and bitter, while its tannins and weight flatten delicate sushi and oysters. Save those for an aromatic white.
Skip with: Crispy chilli beef · Tandoori lamb chops · Sushi · Raw oysters · Pairing guide →
With 36 months in new oak and the concentration of dried grapes, this is a 20-year wine. Suckling placed its peak around a decade from release, and total production stays near 5,000 cases.
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
Appassimento concentration plus 36 months in new barrique build a 20-year wine; Suckling places its peak around a decade from release.
£95.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2013, at Hedonism Wines, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 25 Oct 2026, 02:50 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from published drinker ratings, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumThe 'Monte Lodoletta' blend is 60% Corvina, 10% Corvinone, 5% Rondinella, 15% Croatina and 10% Oseleta, all estate-grown in the Val d'Illasi.
It is farmed and made to the same standard as the estate's Amarone: dried grapes, brutal selection, very low yields and 36 months in new oak barrels. Only around 5,000 cases are made across all three wines.
No. Dal Forno dries the Valpolicella grapes for about six weeks against three months for the Amarone, and uses younger vines. So the Superiore is fresher and lighter on its feet while sharing the Amarone method.
It is built for the long haul. James Suckling put the wine at its peak around ten years from release, and strong vintages such as 2015 and 2016 will hold and improve for two decades.
Reach for slow-braised beef and veal such as brasato or ossobuco, game like venison, and aged hard cheese; the potent tannins need rich, savoury protein.
Current UK stock spans 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. The 2015 and 2016 are the standout years, scored 94 and 95 by Vinous; 2014 was a cooler, trickier Veneto vintage.
5 retailers
Valpolicella
5 retailers
£11.00
+ delivery
4 retailers
Valpolicella
4 retailers
£85.00
£94.00
+ delivery
4 retailers
Valpolicella
4 retailers
£31.50
+ delivery
4 retailers
Valpolicella
4 retailers
£16.30
+ delivery
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