This Brunello is at that nice price point where we sometimes find solid quality equal to others costing twice as much. Sometimes you get what you pay for, others times you get more. This is an example of the latter.
The '05 La Velona really delivers and is readily available across the U.S. Interestingly, it is yet another quality wine from the area of Castelnuovo dell'Abate, a section of the DOCG zone that has an abundance solid producers, and frequently yields wines that hit my sweet spot.
2005 La Velona Brunello Di Montalcino 14% ABV, $39
Sweet perfume at first on the nose over brambles and rich black cherry fruit. There are also notes of charred aromatic wood and some warm spice that developed with time. The palate shows abundant lean black cherry with excellent structure that really stands out. Also on the palate is flinty Earth, anise, and nice aromatic action. The tannins are fine grained and significant as they shape the somewhat smokey finish. This is a forward wine with nice sharp edges. 90Pts
