2019 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino

The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino shows ripe black cherry, plum, and dried herbs layered with notes of leather and earth. The palate is full-bodied and structured, with firm but polished tannins, balanced acidity, and a long, savory finish that points to strong aging potential.

96 Jeb Dunnuck. Review Date: 02/2024. A ripe red color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is expressive of its place, with warming notes of licorice, black cherries, anise, cedar, and dark soil lifting from the glass. As it opens, it becomes purer in its fruit profile, shining through beautifully. Full-bodied, with ripe tannins and a savory slanting profile, notes of espresso and mocha float across the palate, filling it with purity of fruit and lovely concentration through its long finish. It’s a fantastic Brunello with a warming richness that can stand up to hearty winter foods and will be best enjoyed over the next 15 years. (AF)

95 Kerin O'Keefe. Review Date: 02/2024. Aromas of scorched earth and truffle mingle with blue flower, leather and pipe tobacco on the bold 2019 Brunello from Uccelliera. It’s full-bodied and concentrated but also has great energy, delivering fleshy raspberry, black cherry extract, dried mint and licorice before a nutty close. Tightly wound, close-grained tannins provide firm support while bright acidity keeps it vibrant and balanced.

95 Wine Advocate. Review Date: 12/2023. The Uccelliera 2019 Brunello di Montalcino offers ripe fruit, a note of cooked blackberry and pomegranate juice. Along with oak spice and dried bay leaf, there is a spot of creaminess on the mid-palate that recalls cheese rind or aged chèvre with a crust of black pepper and thyme. That note blows off, however, and the wine returns to dried cherry with a medicinal or herbal twist. There's a lot going on. The wine needs more time in bottle to address the fine, chalky tannins. It is elegant now but poised to improve. Production is 36,000 bottles plus larger formats. (RP)

95 Vinous. Review Date: 11/2023. Brooding yet intense, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino bursts from the glass with a wave of autumnal spices, crushed cherries, cedar shavings and steeped plums lifted by pine hints. This is deeply textural, elegant and refined, with a dense wave of ripe wild berry fruits, all guided by vibrant acidity, offset by oranges and balsam herbs. It finishes grippy and extended with a black hole of tension and a sweet and sour sensation that lingers on and on as crunchy tannins resonate throughout. The 2019 is youthfully backward today, yet there's a balance that can't be denied, especially as I watched it open up over twenty-four hours. This is a total pleasure to taste. Bury the 2019 deep in the cellar. (EG)

Uccelliera is a highly regarded, small-scale estate in Montalcino, founded in the mid-1980s by Andrea Cortonesi. Cortonesi farms roughly six hectares of vineyards located on the southwestern side of Montalcino, an area known for producing Brunello with richness and structure due to warmer exposures. Viticulture is hands-on and low-yielding, with an emphasis on healthy fruit rather than strict certification. In the cellar, Uccelliera follows a traditional but polished approach, fermenting with native yeasts and aging Brunello in large Slavonian oak casks and some smaller barrels to balance power with refinement. The wines are widely respected for combining concentration and approachability with clear expression of site and vintage.