Brunello di Montalcino, Uccelliera

90

2020-07-01

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. 

95

2020-09-20

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.

97

2020-02-01

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.

96

2020-04-07

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.

92

2018-05-01

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. 

94

2017-11-27

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.

94

2018-03-01

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.

92

2018-04-04

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.