Uccelliera’s 2012 Brunello Has Arrived. 96 Points, (Parker’s Wine Advocate). “Explosive.”
Andrea Cortonelli once again produces one of the greatest wines to come out of a vintage.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG BY UCCELLIERA 2012
96 points – Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, Feb 2017
Winery : Uccelliera
Wine Region : Italy (Italy), Tuscany (Italy)
Bottle Per Case : 6 x 750 ml
Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Hard Cheese, Red Meat, Roasted Vegetables
“I am always such a big fan of Andrea Cortonesi’s work. Like his previous releases, the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino shows an uncanny sense of continuity and consistency with past releases. This steady stylistic focus is one of the best reasons to buy Uccelliera Brunello. The wine is dark and rich in appearance. Fruit from this vintage was smaller than usual and Andrea jokes that during the 2012 growing season you could hardly call it “Sangiovese Grosso,” the name of the Sangiovese clone used in Montalcino. It is normally characterized by larger berry size, but not in this warm and dry vintage. Fruit was concentrated and smaller instead. The wine’s explosive flavor profile demonstrates this fact. Blackberry and dark fruit segues to spice, tobacco and balsam herb.”
2012 was a warm and dry vintage in Montalcino that produced some wonderful wines. Most are concentrated beyond what you expect from what tends to be a very concentrated appellation. I have tasted a number of Brunelli from 2012, and the wines from Andrea Cortonesi, (Uccelliera), are some of the best to come out of the Montalcino area. As always, our allocation is limited and the wines will be sold 1st come, 1st served.
We went to visit Andrea and his family a couple of months back. As is often the case in Italy, this is a family run affair with Grandma ensuring that everyone is well fed while making great wine. We were lucky enough to get to sit in on a family lunch, and oh yeah, we were served some awesome wines too. In case you were wondering, the above picture is of us looking over some of the vineyards at Uccelliera.
It comes down to this, Uccelliera has some of the most spectacular terroir in Montalcino, Andrea is amazing at his job, (winemaker and owner), and Uccelliera is making some of the best Brunello from every vintage of which 2012 most everyone is saying, and i agree, was a superb one. This is a wine you most definitely want to own.
If you are looking for more superb Sangiovese based Colognole’s 2011 Riserva Del Don is in stock and roughly half the price of the Uccelliera Brunello. Interestingly, though 2011 was not considered to be a great vintage in the Montalcino region, in Chianti, just down the way 100 km’s or so, it was an awesome vintage. While you are likely better off waiting a number of years to drink your 2012 Brunelli, Colognole’s Riserva Del Don is drinking wonderfully now and will do so for the next 5 – 7 years.
Looking for some slightly more entry level Chianti? Antico Colle has been a client favourite for years. The last PO came and went so fast, we did not even have time to do an offer on it. I recently found some of the 2011 Antico Colle in my cellar, though their Chianti is just an entry level wine, it aged like a wine with a much higher price tag on it. You can drink this wine now and it is delicious, but if you have the patience to lie it down, it will likely improve. 2015 was an awesome vintage as well.
In case you were wondering, YES, Sangiovese based wines usually match very well with meats coming off the BBQ. I would stick with the bigger wines for steak’s and lamb, while entry level Chianti is perfect with chicken, pork and can work well with a nice piece of fish.
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Wishing everyone a wonderful Friday and weekend!
CHIANTI RUFINA RISERVA DEL DON DOCG BY COLOGNOLE 2011
92 points – Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, Oct 2016
Winery : Colognole
Wine Region : Italy (Italy), Tuscany (Italy)
Bottle Per Case : 12 x 750 ml
Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Hard Cheese, Red Meat, Roasted Vegetables
CHIANTI COLLI SENESI BY ANTICO COLLE 2015
Winery : Antico Colle
Wine Region : Italy (Italy), Tuscany (Italy)
Bottle Per Case : 12 x 750 ml
Food Pairing : Breads, Cured Meat, Hard Cheese, Red Meat, Roasted Vegetables