~ The Uccelliera Estate in Castelnuovo dell’Abate ~
The Uccelliera farm is a tiny azienda tucked away south of Montalcino, near Castelnuovo dell’Abate. The 6 hectares of vines are impeccably maintained by owner Andrea Cortonesi. Through green harvesting and utmost respect for the centuries old tradition of his land, Andrea produces authentic Tuscan wine.
I last tasted the subject of today’s review during my coverage of the great 2010 vintage and it acquitted itself very well at that time. The wine was complex and delicious. Plus, it was a fairly good value.
~ Andrea Cortonesi in his vineyards ~
Rapace is Cortinesi’s vision of a Super Tuscan and he crafts the wine as only he can; true to his vision. Rapace is a blend of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet. The vineyards that provide the fruit for the wine vary dramatically in age. All three of the varietals in the blend have vines that were planted in 1975, 1989 and 1998. The Sangiovese used for Rapace is dedicated to Rapace – in other words, it is never destined for Brunello and therefore is never “declassified”. Cortonesi vinifies 50-60% of the Sangiovese together with the Cabernet and Merlot while the rest of the Sangiovese rest separately until bottling. Cortonesi feels this gives the wine an additional late “punch” of Sangiovese character. Elevated in French barrique for 18 months, the wine bottle ages for 6 months before release.
The 2015 Uccelliera Rapace, meaning bird of prey, lives up to the pedigree of the 2015 vintage. In the glass, the wine is a dark ruby/violet color which trends toward purple clearly as a result of the inclusion of the French grapes. On the nose, the wine displays vibrant crushed black plum aromas with fresh herbs, roasted coffee and sweet tobacco notes. It’s very attractive.
On the palate, the wine is seamless and concentrated. Flavors of black plums, toasted vanilla, leaf tobacco and crushed stones take center stage but are noticeably interrupted by substantial tannins that need some cellaring to tame. This is not to say the wine is imbalanced. Far from it. There is harmony between the fruit, tannins and acids, but patience is required. 90 points. Price is creeping up now at around $33. Still a good value relative to other Super Tuscans. Find this wine
~ The 2015 is definitely more structured and substantial than it’s 2010 sibling ~
Do you like to see Super Tuscans being made within the Montalcino area? Do you think it’s acreage better devoted to Brunello? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section!
Salute!
Andrea is one of the most passionate wine producers I’ve ever met and this passion flows to his wines as they are some of my favorites. To answer your Super Tuscan question, I’m pretty traditional with my wines and always tend to prefer native Italian grapes. However I think it’s fine having a small production of Super Tuscans made in the Montalcino area. If producers can successfully show the unique terroir expression of Montalcino through other grapes it is acceptable. This Rapace is a great example of the Montalcino expression with a blend of grapes. I also look at it as an opportunity for Montalcino producers to diversify their portfolios which can help them maintain a solid financial foundation to support their primary goal. This goal should be to produce top quality Brunello.
I met Andrea once at a tasting, but never in Italy. I agree with your take though, his passion is almost tangible. That said, I think that’s true of almost every winemaker I’ve ever met. Whether it be Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria, Napa, Sonoma, wherever. They are farmers first and this really isn’t the industry to be in without a devotion to passion. And many of them have their name on the label. You won’t be surprised that we agree re: Super Tuscans. Another goal you didn’t mention is that these wines can help with cash flow and ultimately these are all businesses that need working capital. Especially in a place like Brunello where it can take 3-4 years or more for your product to sell. But having said that, the product has to be good and Rapace is. And it’s fairly priced vis a vis its competition. This wine reminds me a lot of what Summus used to be. The blend is very similar to the earlier vintages before Castello Banfi turned Summus more to a French composition. At any rate, it’s worth a grab, especially in 2015. This wine will improve for 3-5 years I think and easily last a decade if stored well. Salute.
It seems to me that Montalcino wineries producing non-Brunello wine is a good thing. It allows the winemaker to try something new and different and perhapscome up with something exciting. Poggio Antico has a wine called Madre that is very nice and they now have another non-Brunello wine as outlined in the post below. Many (most?) Chianti Classico wineries produce non-conforming wines that can be quite good (see Piemaggio and Setriolo for great examples).
My ‘gripe’ (for lack of a better word) is use of the phrase ‘Super Tuscan” Super Tuscan means simply that the wine does not conform to any of the wine making standards of the region it’s from, no more and no less. Some Super Tuscans are truly super, while other wines marketed as Super Tuscan are nothing more than a place to dump unneeded non-native grapes. The term really has no meaning.
Agreed on all points Steve. Super Tuscan is a marketing term and nothing more. What’s worse than that is “baby” Super Tuscan.