La Mannella, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (Tuscany, Italy) 2013

 Though the wines are bottled and in distribution to wholesalers, the official release date of the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino is the beginning of 2018.  The growing season was cooler than 2012, which suggests the wines might be more elegant than powerful, but generalizations can’t be made, if at all, until tasting a full range of them.  As with many Brunello producers, La Manella blends wines made from Sangiovese grown in vineyards in two parts of the DOCG, north and southeast of the village itself, to achieve a balanced and complex finished wine.  They have achieved that with their traditionally framed 2013.  It has impressive combination of density and suaveness with luxuriously silky tannins.  A refined wine, it’s long, with bright acidity that imparts an uplifting freshness. There’s the barest hint of attractive bitterness in the finish that reminds you this a serious wine.