2013 - Brunello di Montalcino Rennina, Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja)

The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina is a dark, plush and succulent red wine with seamless overall integration. Angelo Gaja makes his wines with broad brush strokes that form shapes of perfect harmony and grandeur. He seems less interested in the minutiae, much in the same way an impressionist painter creates a portrait without consideration for the gritty details of reality. Continuing with my art metaphor, I'll venture to say that this is a big-picture wine that embraces bold fruit, oak spice, acidity and tannin in one overwhelming and warm embrace. I usually score the Sugarille a point or two higher, but this year the Rennina won my heart.

Deep red. Ripe red cherry, sweet spices and candied violet on the ample nose, plus a hint of alcohol-derived heat. Rich, dense and plush, featuring flinty and savory flavors of plums and dark berries nicely framed by youthfully chewy tannins. Finishes long, clean and pure with an enticingly creamy, suave blackberry-nectar-like quality. Richer and deeper than the entry-level Brunello, but the 15% alcohol is a little too noticeable and keeps my score down.

Deep ruby. Lots of oak and lively, concentrated cherry on the nose. Oak has quite a big impact but there is such a lot of fruit that it integrates. The finish has amazing length and muscular grip, but it could do with much less oak, because it plays up on the finish. (WS)