Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Hauntingly dark, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva displays a lovely elegance. A bouquet of mentholated black cherries and balsamic spices is lifted by whiffs of dried sage and pine shavings. Velvety smooth and nearly creamy in feel, it floods the palate with hints of ripe red and blue fruit. It has a core of zesty acidity maintains amazing energy and freshness. This leaves the senses enshrouded in a veil of fine-grained tannins, dramatically long and structured but with a concentration of primary saturation to balance. Bury this deep in the cellar—it's a masterpiece in the making.
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Jeb Dunnuck
An inky red color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva is expressive and concentrated with aromas of black cherry liqueur, toasted vanilla, pine, fresh sage, and sappy herbs. Its oak spice is more prevalent at this young stage in its development, but it's well-managed and has a lux feel. Full-bodied, savory, and structured, it demands more time due to its brooding and grippy feel. Though the tannins are ripe, it has a lot of tension in its broad-shouldered and more muscular feel. It will take time for its oak to integrate fully, but it's a very well done wine in its style. Drink 2028-2048.
Rating: 96+ -
James Suckling
Aromas of flowers, flint, graphite and smoke on the nose. Reductive in a very good sense of the word. Similar character on the palate with lots of black cherries, dark chocolate and cedar. Medium-bodied, this has well-integrated tannins and a persistent finish. Shows excellence now with balance and integrity. Drink after 2027 and beyond.
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Decanter
Owner Andrea Cortonesi doesn’t believe in making a single-vineyard or special selection bottling. He produces just two Brunello, the ‘annata’ and a Riserva – the latter in top vintages only, crafted from the estate’s oldest vines dating back to 1975. A parade of rosemary, mint, cardamom and clove draws you in immediately. They repeat on the dense, luxuriant palate of dark red cherry and persimmon, where confidently extracted, dry and chalky tannins firm up the edges. Sappy acidity injects some oomph, and it's definitely more powerful than elegant; it will please those who prize a bolder style.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
We have not seen a Riserva from Uccelliera in a few years. The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wears a heavy mantle of oak that adds sweet cinnamon and vanilla stick. Those oak tones are prominent, but they do remain sweet and hydrated nonetheless; and that's a plus, because you don't get drying tannins, although there is a pinch of astringency at this young stage. Blackberry and dried rose potpourri are featured along with sandalwood and sauna wood.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Spectator
The cherry and strawberry fruit in this red is framed by oak spice notes, with an underlying element of flint. Elegant and light-bodied, this shows staying power. The lingering finish echoes the fruit and spice accents.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.