Cortonesi - 'La Mannella' Lèonus, IGT Toscana, Italy (2021)

TASTING NOTES

Juicy, fresh and full of red cherries and dark berries on the nose, with a delicate astringency on the palate. It has such a great balance and it drinks so well that it's the perfect everyday wine.

The Cortonesi family has owned the La Mannella farm in Montalcino for decades and are devoted to the production of Brunello di Montalcino. This wine, Lèonus, is a humble but mighty Toscana IGT made from grapes that are in fact grapes cultivated to be Brunello once they gain sufficient maturity, from vineyards in Montalcino. 

Fruit is sourced from the La Mannella zone, one of the coolest growing areas in the appellation at moderate 350 meters above sea level. Winemaking is traditional, using 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak for three years of slow aging, and this reinforces all those fun berry notes on display in the 25,000-bottle release.

The Cortonesi family has owned the La Mannella farm in Montalcino for decades and are devoted to the production of Brunello di Montalcino. Tommaso is the third-generation with some of the most prized vineyards in the north and south-east of Montalcino. Favourable geography, rocky soils, and ingenious winemaking all come together to create some of the region's deepest and most elegant Brunello wines. 

The Cortonesi family has been making wine since the 1970s. At first, wines were made to be enjoyed by family, friends and neighbours, but then in 1985, Cortonesi had gained enough traction within their community that they began to offer their wines commercially. Today, Cortonesi remains a family business that continues to work according to tradition, while employing modern technologies to the enhance the quality of their production.