2019 La Serena Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 750ml

Awards, Ratings & Reviews

95/100 — Wine Spectator · 2019 Vintage · Tasted Jun 2024

“Aromas of bark, dark cherries and flowers, too. It’s medium- to full-bodied with purity of fruit that runs the length of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Very fine tannins. From organically grown grapes. Needs three or four years to completely come together, but gorgeous. Drink after 2026.”

— James Suckling · 2019 Vintage · Tasted Sep 2023

About This Wine

Soil structure: soil mixed with clay, sand and marl. Vineyard altitude: 400 meters above sea level. Training system: Spurred cordon and Guyot (Tuscan inverted).

The harvest normally takes place during the first weeks of October, with a production of 60 quintals per hectare. The manually harvested grapes are selected in the vineyard and then before destemming in special sorting tables and on the ascent ramps that lead them to the destemmer. After alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks, malolactic fermentation follows.

Aging in wooden barrels of 20–40 hectoliters. The production disciplinary provides for a minimum period of aging in wood of 24 months. In La Serena the natural aging process is expected, which depending on the grapes and the vintage can reach up to 30 months.

Tasting Notes

Intense and brilliant ruby red with refined garnet reflections. Complex bouquet full of expressions with an attack of fresh and inviting fruity notes, especially small black berries, followed by subtle sweet spicy hints and elegant balsamic hints with a dried tobacco leaf finish. Long, lively and at the same time silky tannins, well supported by a good level of acid freshness, a large volume and an opulent body with an admirable final result in terms of harmony, integration and balance of the components.

About the Producer

La Serena is a Tuscan wine estate set on the eastern edge of the Montalcino winemaking region. It produces a select range of red wines: Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva.

The La Serena estate has belonged to the Mantengoli family since 1933, but it wasn't until 1988 that the inaugural vintage of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino wine was released. Today, the responsibility of the estate falls to Andrea, his wife Elisabetta and their son Giorgio who oversee a total production of 30,000 bottles per year.

The estate devotes the entirety of its 9 hectares (22 acres) of vineyard to the Sangiovese grape variety. The vineyards are farmed organically and sit atop a combination of clay and limestone soils.

Harvest is carried out by hand in the vineyard with vinification taking place in the eco-friendly winery designed by Marcello Mantengoli. The building is insulated with cork panels and is also fitted with a geothermal system that can carefully regulate the temperature of the cellar.

Specifications

• Vintage: 2019
• Grape Variety: 100% Sangiovese
• Region: Brunello di Montalcino / Tuscany / Italy
• Classification: DOCG
• Fermentation: Alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks followed by malolactic fermentation
• Maturation: Aging in wooden barrels of 20–40 hectoliters (minimum 24 months, up to 30 months)
• Production Attributes: Oaked
• Vineyard / Geo info: 400 meters above sea level; soil mixed with clay, sand and marl; Spurred cordon and Guyot (Tuscan inverted)
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• Sweetness: Dry
• Ownership: Andrea Mantengoli
• Closure: Cork
• Drinking Window: 2025–2035