Amazing aromas of dried fruits, burnt orange and walnut skin. Full-bodied, chewy and very rich and dry, with wonderful tannin-fruit tension. It's layered, textured and complex. A triumph. Drink now.

The 2010 Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta is more precise and focused compared to the 2011 edition that I tasted at the estate at the same time. This was not an easy vintage in Valpolicella compared to other parts of Italy that enjoyed a classic growing season. Instead, this Northern corner of Italy suffered from heavy rains and some hail damage. Overall yields were lower as a result. But the wine sings in terms of its brightness and aromatic intensity today. The expressive bouquet covers all the bases from black fruit to spice to drying mineral or flint. All of these elements conspire to bring robust flavors together with smooth and seamless transitions. ML

Leather, spice, violet and smoke aromas and flavors are an aromatic entry for this expressive red, wafting through notes of plumped black cherry, underbrush and smoky mineral. Firm and dense, but with an overall sense of finesse to the marriage of structure and flavor. AN