Brunello di Montalcino

Score

97

"This is really beautiful with complex black cherry, berry, walnut and dark chocolate. Some mushroom and smoke. It’s tight and reserved with polished tannins and wonderful balance and finesse. Persistent and intense. Drink after 2025."

Score

96

"The Uccelliera 2016 Brunello di Montalcino opens to dark fruit and wild cherry with warmer tones of cured tobacco, spice and potting soil. It shows the extra density, darkness and richness that comes so beautifully to fruit grown on the sun-drenched southern side of Castelnuovo dell'Abate in the southern half of the appellation. What Uccelliera delivers so carefully, vintage after vintage, is a truly exceptional sense of mouthfeel with textural richness and lingering creaminess. It is also one of the wines that consistently shows a sense of place. This is a touchstone estate for this specific Montalcino microclimate. Production is 29,000 bottles."

Score

96+

"The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino blends richness, ripeness and refinement to create a model of total balance. At first, it’s dark, earthy and herbal; yet with time in the glass, a massive wave of black cherry, raspberry, sage and a grounding note of undergrowth comes forward. In the mouth, it coats all that it touches in silky, cool-toned textures, giving way to ripe red/black fruits complemented by spiced citrus, as nuances of lavender and tobacco form. While this feels round and pliant throughout, fine-grain tannins slowly saturate, sneaking up and reminding you of just how young the 2016 really is today. Hints of baker’s chocolate, licorice and a twang of tart blackberry resonate - wow, does it ever end?"

Score

90

"Forest-floor, leather, camphor and dried rose aromas mingle with a whiffs of vanilla and French oak. The brawny palate offers dried cherry, licorice and the heat of evident alcohol while firm, close-grained tannins leave a drying finish. "

Score

95

"Plenty of earth, tar, spices, dried cherries and red plums here. The tannins have a firm but generous quality to them, providing an abundance of structure to the full-bodied palate. I love the juxtaposition between ripe fruit and tightly webbed texture. Drink from 2023."

Score

97

"Andrea Cortonesi of Uccelliera shows real talent when it comes to highlighting vintage variation in his wines. His 2015 Brunello di Montalcino captures the exuberance and the ebullience of this sunny and warm growing season. However, the wine remains orderly, precise and very elegant nonetheless, with a pretty succession of aromas that play cautiously forward, building in intensity along the way. Dried currant and cherry cede to moist earth, rose petal and balsam herb. The wine's medium-weight body is supported by fresh acidity and well-managed tannins (with 36 months of oak aging). All of these moving pieces work in harmony. This Brunello was bottled in July 2019 and released in January 2020. Some 27,866 bottles were released."

Score

96

"The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino opens with an alluring bouquet that showcases dark red fruits, sweet florals, dusty earth and a hint of animal musk. On the palate, I find a soft, enveloping expression, displaying ripe red and black fruits, which seem to hover on the senses, as a mix of spices, saline-minerals and zesty acids saturate the senses. The finish is long, spicy, yet also wonderfully fresh, with hints of fine tannin gently tugging at the senses. The 2015 Uccelliera Brunello is already so easy to like, making good use of the sunny nature of the vintage, yet with all the raw ingredients for medium-term cellaring. Tasted twice with consistent results."

Score

92

"Aromas of pipe tobacco, underbrush, new leather and a whiff of cured meat come together on this. The taut palate is more restrained, with close-grained tannins offsetting raspberry, Marasca cherry, ground clove and a hint of game. A savory saline note marks the close. Drink 2023–2033. "

Score

94

"This is exotic yet chilled with a red fruit character overlaid with fresh flowers on the nose. Smoky. Medium to full body, firm yet lightly polished. Lovely fruit and subtly refined. Layered. Extremely fine and pretty. Better in 2019."

Score

94

"I never have enough praise for the excellent work achieved at Uccelliera. The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino is another proud notch in Andrea Cortonesi's belt. This is a fine and elegant wine that wraps smoothly over the palate. It also has an immediate and accessible personality that means you don't need to wait too long to enjoy it. The wine is redolent of dark fruit, spice, balsam herb, licorice and pressed flowers. You get loads of variety character."

Score

92

"Dark red with a pale rim. Ripe red cherry, licorice, underbrush and a hint of game on the complex nose. Ripe but suave, offering nuances of aromatic herbs and tar that complement spicy red currant and blood orange flavors. Soft-textured and slightly marked by some alcohol-derived warmth (14.5%), this finishes long and ripe."