Historical sources speak of the existence of a farm in Montalcino, in the south-eastern quadrant of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, called Uccelliera. The farm, named after the hunting activity that was conducted there, by means of trained prey birds, was also famous for the luxuriance of its land.
This last aspect triggered in the mind of Andrea Cortonesi, a winemaker trained helping his father sharecropper in the work of the land, the desire to become one day owner of those lands.
The dream becomes reality in 1986 and Andrea buys the farm a small plot at a time: secular olive groves, arable fields and a small vineyard that, over time, will be expanded.
Today the vineyard covers about 10 hectares, planted almost exclusively with Sangiovese vines of between 5 and 45 years. The land is clay/sandy, very hanging, and develop from 150 to 350 meters, near the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, about ten kilometers east of Castelnuovo.
Here Andrea practices a sustainable viticulture that, even without certifications, is based on a few, essential, principles: abandonment of mechanical processing, care for the vegetative balance by thinning the bunches.
Among the wines produced by the winery there is, of course, Brunello di Montalcino, obtained from seven hectares of vineyards, planted since 1975, with a density ranging from 3000 to 7500 vines per hectare.
After the manual harvest, on average in the second half of September, the grapes are sent to the winery to macerate in cold, dry ice, a week, during which the number of indigenous yeasts naturally rises.
Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation, which can last up to a month, at a temperature never below 12 ºC or above 27 ºC, is accompanied by frequent pumping over and is followed, after racking, by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats.
A two-year aging, in Slavonian and French oak barrels of various sizes, and another of at least six months, in glass, after bottling, and the wine is ready for marketing.
The 2015 vintage combined with some juicy Fiorentine steaks, confirmed the reason why this wine enjoys such high esteem. The slightly bitter and burnt scent, created by the reaction of MaIillard, has found in the wine its equal, thanks to a visible glyceric consistency and a rich and opulent olfactory fan.
Cazzano’s Black Cherries, black currant, cooked plum, and wild blackberry, constituted the overture of a nose that continued on notes of pot pourri of violet, Rose “velvet alibi” slightly wilted, carob, Laodicean tobacco, with final echoes of vinyl, sealing wax and white sage incense.
The palate reiterated the perfect marriage thanks to the 15 degrees ABV that allowed the softness of the wine to “cauterize” the burns of the steaks, the sweetness of sugar that balanced the bitterness of the reaction of Maillard, and the delicate tannins, just whispered, which allowed the blood/iron part of the meat to not creak overlapping them.
All this has been enhanced by the pleasantly obsessive return of the entire range of aromatic descriptors highlighted, which have harmoniously accompanied the pairing sip/ bite to a closure of enjoyment and long satisfaction.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PREZZO: €€€
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