Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2015
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Elegant and well balanced, powerful, but clean and smooth and a dynamic rising finale.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
An enticing version, whose vibrant character sets the pace for fresh black cherry, blackberry, iron and tobacco, with a frame of oak spice. Round and solidly built, this persists with lingering accents of fruit, mineral and spice.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Uccelliera 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with 9,600 bottles made) is a great achievement and is among my top favorite wines from Andrea Cortonesi tasted in the 20 or so years I have followed this estate. There is a lot of power here, thanks to that golden Castelnuovo dell'Abate sunshine, so I cannot liken this wine to some of the more ethereal and delicate expressions that I also love. Instead, this Riserva delivers brawn, dark fruit and muscle, but it does so with sincerity and honesty. You can't help but appreciate the complexity on offer. The wine offers plenty of dark fruit, but you also get licorice, balsam herb and crushed limestone. There is a lot of beauty to admire.
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James Suckling
Dense aromas of ripe berries, dried cherries, spicy bark and hints of orange rind follow through to a medium to full body with fine, firm tannins that are coated with fresh, spicy and citrusy notes that linger long. Well balanced acidity provides even greater length.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Riserva is selected from the oldest vines of the estate and spent 42 months in French and Slovenian oak of various sizes. The nose is forward, with a somewhat modern sensibility, noted by vanilla bean and cedar wrapping around ripe, concentrated black plum fruit. The palate is full and opulent, with a more serious tannin structure, while its fruit is warming and speaks to the vintage without being overblown. Overall, this is a very expressive, ripe wine for those who love a slightly more luxurious style. It will need time in the cellar to harmonize with the oak and I believe it will benefit those who lay this down and allow it to settle into itself for 5-15 years.
Other Vintages
2016-
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Wine
The Uccelliera estate was at once part of neighboring Ciacci Piccolomini until 1986, when winemaker Andrea Cortonesi purchased it from his friends and former employers. After refining his trade as cellar master for Ciacci, Andrea ventured out on his own with the formation of Uccelliera. His first vintage was 1991 with the production of a mere 500 bottles!
The wines have quickly become cult favorites amongst the cognoscenti. Tucked away in the southeast corner of the appellation in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, the soil here is loose and stony which when coupled with a warm microclimate gives the wines of Uccelliera a rich and ripe expression, vintage after vintage. Two hectares adjacent to Ciacci’s famous ‘Pianrosso’ vineyard were recently added to this boutique estate, bringing the total to a mere six hectares. Andrea Cortonesi is tireless in his approach to winemaking, with all vineyard work done exclusively by hand.