Cortonesi La Manella (Red)

More from this producer: Cortonesi

  • 2020

    Slightly jammy blue fruit on the nose. Creamy, nutty, quite a bit of oak and lees providing aromatic richness. Lovely concentration and complexity on the palate - rich, concentrated, intense, but also extracted. Very extracted. There is a lovely youthful fruity freshness to the acidity and very chalky, sharp tannins, but there are a lot of both. A very lot. The alcohol provides a nice richness, softness and lift on the finish - but this is very traditional. It's ripe and not over-extracted, and I love the sweetness of the oak that plays with the pretty redcurrants and strawberries, but overall this is still a tough wine to love. Hard and a little mineral on the finish, but still very refined.

    Tasted November 2024
  • 2019

    Translucent garnet. Lots of coffee, cacao, subtle herbal notes. Rich and crunchy. Some red cherries, sour cherries, cherry stone. Hints of gingrbread, and more torrefied coffee, black chocolate. Pretty and lightly floral on the palate, with supple inkiness, gentle tannins, and a lot of alcohol providing warmth, lift, and a counter-balance to the very significant tannins. Somewhat excessively erring on the side of traditional, I think that for many people this wine will be benchmark Brunello.

    Tasted November 2024

About us

We’re mother and son duo Elizabeth Gabay MW and Ben Bernheim. Between us, we’ve been involved in the wines of southern France for over 30 years. Elizabeth started working with the wines of Provence back in 1986, and for the past 20 years has lived on the eastern edge of south-east France. We’ve worked on three books on rosé: Rosé Understanding the Pink Wine Revolution (2018), Elizabeth Gabay’s Buyers Guide to the Rosés of Southern France (2021 e-guide) and, most recently Rosés of Southern France (2022).

Please do not reproduce our tasting notes or scores without getting in touch with us first.