98pts Wine Specator

Offers forthcoming aromas and flavors of blackberry, black currant, licorice, tobacco and vanilla backed by vivid acidity and dusty tannins. This has enough fruit and structure to absorb the oakiness over time, is balanced overall and is poised for a promising future. Long, saline finish. Best from 2026 through 2045. 800 cases made, 350 cases imported. — BS

97pts Vinous

Rich and deeply alluring, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wafts up to display crushed ashen stone mixed with hints of ginger, dusty florals and black cherry preserves. This is velvety-smooth and pliant in feel, lifted by cooling herbal and mineral tones, as an opulent wave of ripe red and black fruits washes across the palate, leaving a staining of minerals and spice in its wake. It’s long and structured, in need of further time to come fully into focus, yet somehow the 2016 Riserva remains completely fresh, tapering off to inner earth tones and hints of blueberry. Time will reveal further depths. This is an utterly classic Uccelliera Brunello in the making.-- Eric Guido 

96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a terrific wine: bold, well-defined, powerful and balanced. There are many good things to relate, but the high alcohol content (measured at 15.5%) is the only distraction. This is a trend in the Riserva category in the 2016 vintage. The bouquet shows black cherry, cassis, earth, leather and dried roses. The palate offers soft fruit flavors supported by firm oak tannins. Coming back to the bottle 24 hours later, I found impressive integration and smoothness that took away from that alcohol heat. Production is 9,600 bottles.

Andrea Cortonesi recently acquired three additional hectares of Brunello di Montalcino with some old vines planted in the 1980s mixed in with newer plants. It should be interesting to watch what Andrea decides to do with this new source of Sangiovese. 

Winery Notes

Wine produced with selected sangiovese grapes from Brunello di Montalcino designated vineyards of approximately 7 hectares planted in 1975/1988/1998/2000 in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, south-east of Montalcino at an altitude that varies from from 150 (492 ft), 250 (820 ft) and 350 (1150 ft) meters a.s.l. The soil is of medium consistency, calcareousclayey with presence of sands and marl, rich in minerals and skeleton.

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.