2019 Voliero Cortonesi Brunello di Montalcino

A medium red/garnet hue, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino is sunny and expressive with ripe cherries, blood orange, cypress pine, and incense notes. Medium to full-bodied, it floats across the palate with ripe tannins, even-keeled fresh acidity, and a chalky texture through the finish. It’s a very appealing wine that will improve if given another year or two. Drink 2025-2037. Run by Andrea Cortonesi of Uccelliera, Voliero is situated between Montalcino and Sant Angelo in Colle in the south. Compared to the wines of Uccelliera, these wines tend to offer a more red-fruited profile with an approachable and supple character.

The Voliero 2019 Brunello di Montalcino has ripe cherry fruit and blackberry, with soft and ripe layering throughout. This wine shows the rich and plump side of 2019, a vintage that offers more concentration than average. Dark fruit flavors cede to spice, earth and toasted chestnut husk. This wine shows solid, chalky tannins. Some 7,600 bottles (and larger formats) were made, and they're almost ready straight out of the gate.

A mentholated freshness introduces the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino, as a vibrant wave of crushed cherries, mint leaf, clove and dusty roses make up its absolutely gorgeous bouquet. This is silky and enveloping yet lifted and full of energy, with crunchy red berry fruits that leave a crackle of primary concentration toward the close. It finishes pretty saline and spicy in character, leaving edgy tannins to mingle with a residual bump of acidity that maintains a wonderfully fresh sensation as tart cranberry notes fade. This is one of the most exciting young renditions of Voliero I have ever tasted. It captivates with its precision and spry personality while holding depths of complexity in reserve. Wow.