Uccelliera Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino 2018 750ml

Plum, cherry, leather, earth and menthol flavors infuse this grippy red. Starts out smooth, picking up dusty tannins that build to the dry, compact finish. Nevertheless, there’s a core of ripe fruit, and everything is in the right place. Accents of cocoa linger on the finish. Give this time. Best from 2029 through 2045. 3,050 cases made, 1,500 cases imported.

Pouring a reflective red/garnet hue, the 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino is floral and detailed on the nose, with preserved cranberries, cherries, anise, fresh roses, and polished leather. The palate is medium-bodied, structured, and bright, with chalky, angular tannins, refreshing acidity, and fabulous fruit purity that carries through a long finish. It’s exceptional and crisp, and it should easily hold up for 20 years. Drink 2026-2046.

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. (Eric Guido)

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. (Monica Larner)

Minty herbs mix with shavings of pine, dried strawberries and dusty earth as the 2021 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. It displays exceptional finesse and grace, with silken waves of ripe red and blue fruits elevated by fresh acidity. Inner rose tones and a tactile mineral crunch add form toward the close. The 2021 leaves a pleasantly chewy sensation and a tart blackberry twang, tapering off with excellent length and a totally classic feel.

The Uccelliera 2017 Brunello di Montalcino does a great job showcasing that extra power and brawn of the vintage and the richer textural structure of the southern side of the appellation. The bouquet is up front and beautifully measured with lots of red and purple fruit definition followed by spice, tar and earthiness. What sets this wine apart in this hot and dry vintage is the mouthfeel. It delivers fiber, flesh and soft tannins. The alcohol is a bit much at 15% in this production of 28,666 bottles. (Monica Larner)

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino opens nicely in the glass, drawing upon more intensity and depth as it does. It shows firm lines and a fleshed-out mouthfeel that encourages plenty of layering and textural richness. That velvety quality is the enduring signature of this estate, one that has achieved consistent results over the years. The only outlier to this pretty portrait is a 15% alcohol content that, although well absorbed by the wine’s texture, does risk becoming a distraction. Exactly 28,666 bottles were made. (Monica Larner)

Broad and dense, delivering plum, cherry, leather, tobacco and earth flavors underlined by assertive tannins, which show solid grip on the lingering finish. Reveals fruit buried within, so give this some time to integrate more fully. Best from 2026 through 2045. 2,388 cases made, 1,200 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)

Balsam herbs, cocoa and sweet white smoke give way to crushed black cherry and plum as the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. This is elegance personified, silky, deep and round, yet delivering a core of saline-minerality that creates a savory sensation — umami, in a way — with masses of ripe red fruits and confectionary spices to contrast. The tannins are sweet and round, presenting a chiseled structure; yet it’s not forceful. This tapers off with a tart twang of sour wild berries under an air of lavender and violets. Wow; there is so much concentration and depth here, but also balance. In fact, there’s hardly a sign of this being from a difficult vintage. While I expect it will have a shorter life than an Uccelliera Brunello from a classic year, the 2017 should not be missed.

A solid 2017, but there’s tangy freshness to this, and relatively fine tannins that frame the wine nicely. Plenty of ripe fruit. Some fresh mushroom, too. Drink after 2023.

Cherry and plum fruit flavors are allied to mint, camphor and spice flavors in this dense, powerful red, which is lively and resonates on the finish with echoes of fruit, herbs and spices. Best from 2025 through 2042. 2,388 cases made, 1,200 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)