UCCELLIERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2018

UCCELLIERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2018Undeniably pretty and slightly exotic, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino wafts up with a multifaceted bouquet of wild strawberry, fresh mint, balsam herbs, cloves and hints of sweet smoke. This is luxuriously silky and supple, enveloping the palate in ripe wild berry fruits, as a tantalizing inner sweetness and hints of tobacco forms toward the close. Saline minerals add an almost crunchy feel through the finish, and while tannic, it doesn t distract at

Undeniably pretty and slightly exotic, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino wafts up with a multifaceted bouquet of wild strawberry, fresh mint, balsam herbs, cloves and hints of sweet smoke. This is luxuriously silky and supple, enveloping the palate in ripe wild berry fruits, as a tantalizing inner sweetness and hints of tobacco forms toward the close. Saline-minerals add an almost-crunchy feel through the finish, and while tannic, it doesn t distract at all from the 2018’s graceful nature, yet also energetic, as notes of plum and licorice linger on and on. This is a spectacular Brunello of the vintage. Andrea Cortonesi’s winery sits right below the hilltop town of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, skirting the southernmost borders of Montalcino. It is there that Cortonesi makes his Uccelliera and Voliero Brunello. While both wines are from the south of Montalcino, the Uccelliera is sourced entirely from vineyards around Castelnuovo dell’Abate, while Voliero comes from a combination of higher-elevation sites within Castelnuovo dell’Abate and parcels in Sant’Angelo in Colle. The two wines are always entirely different in character, showing a genuine stamp of terroir. In my experience, the warm vintages tend to favor Voliero, while Uccelliera is more successful in cooler years. Deciding between the two is often like splitting hairs, and in 2018, both were equally successful. For Cortonesi, the biggest challenge was the necessary work on the vines and soils as they were recovering from the torridly hot conditions of 2017. Cortonesi explained that the plants that struggled most in 2017 experienced irregular vigor, requiring constant work to lower yields and aerate bunches to prevent mold and disease in 2018. This resulted in a 15-20% reduction in volume. Moreover, there will be no Riserva from 2018, with all the intended fruit was used to bolster the Brunello.