2015 Uccelliera, Brunello di Montalcino

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.

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.

Moderately saturated red. Highly nuanced aromas and flavors of black plum, sour red fruit, tobacco, herbs and nutty oak. Sweet, seamless and wonderfully fine-grained wine with vibrant acidity providing noteworthy clarity and cut on the long multilayered finish

Tasted blind. Mid ruby. A little stalky/reductive on the nose but the concentrated, perfumed, sweet fruit is evident, with hints of oak underneath. Long and richly flavoured cherry fruit with bittersweet tannins. Hugely accessible. (WS)