Uccelliera

 Castelnuovo Abate, on the hillslope facing the Maremma. The vineyards are planted on a natural terrace facing west-southwest, where they are protected from the chill north and northwest winds by the bulk of the Colline di Sant’Antimo. The estate produces Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC, and Rosso IGT “Rapace,” in addition to a grappa and extravirgin olive oil.

Uccelliera is the ancient name of a farm located behind the Castelnuovo dell’Abate alabaster quarries, which furnished the superb stone that went into the building of the nearby Sant’Antimo abbey. This area, one of Tuscany’s most untouched and typical, provides some of the region’s finest conditions for viticulture.

Andrea Cortonesi, owner of Uccelliera, is a person who could be described as “salt of the earth”: the only son of a farming family, he has worked in the fields since he was a teenager helping his father.

Andrea is not only an extremely talented winemaker, but he is also a fine entrepreneur who managed to purchase in 1986, entirely thanks to his own devices, the initial four hectares of the estate, consisting of an ancient homestead and half a hectare of old vineyards. He immediately planted two hectares of vines and in 1987 the first half hectare for the production of Brunello was planted. The name Uccelliera, meaning aviary in Italian, probably dates back to the Middle Ages when falcons where raised in this specific area. In the following years more vineyards, standing in different positions in respect to the homestead, were added so to reach the present extension of 6 hectares.

To produce Brunello and Rosso by blending vineyards with different exposures and soils is a specific choice so that the character of each vintage and of the terroir can be expressed following a “mimimum handling” philosophy. This is pursued through natural vineyard management, the vines are sprayed only with copper and sulphur based products, the use of insecticides is very rare, the vineyards are tilled so no weedkillers are necessary. Depending on the age of the vines, vineyard density is 3,000-5,000 plants per hectare. The work in the vineyards, carried out entirely by hand, is focussed on obtaining perfectly balanced vines that yield fully ripe and flawless clusters.

Andrea’s efforts continue in the cellar (a new cellar has been added to the old one and they are both built underground) where the wines rest at a constant and natural temperature. At present Uccelliera is without any doubt one of the top estates of Montalcino, the Brunello and Rosso are complex, intense extemely supple and drinkable. A small quantity of an IGT/proprietary wine, Rapace (meaning “bird of prey” in line with the name of the estate), a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet is also produced.

Andrea Cortonesi is not only a vigneron, he is also on the board of institutions for the management of the territory of Montalcino and he has recently opened a very good restaurant near the lovely Piazza il Campo of Siena: the high level cuisine of the creative chef can be considered part of the family’s tradition as Andrea’s mother is a wonderful cook and to have lunch at the estate is an unforgettable experience!