Uccelleria's Brunello 2006

This Brunello which was offered to me (by friends at a neighbouring table) at the end of a wine dinner in which we explored some lesser known grapes of Europe, comes from fruit grown on vineyards between 150-350m elevation in Castelnuovo dell'Abate south east of Montalcino. After fermentation, it is aged for 24 to 36 months in a mix of Slavonian and French oak barrels before bottling and undergoes another 6 months minimum bottle aging before release. The wine was a deep ruby, with a sweet acid fruity nose. The sweet acid fruit carried on to into the palate accompanied by a smattering of tannins, yielding to an acid slightly tannic backbone giving ample support.

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt

The origins of the von Kesselstatt estate go back to the 14th century with the vineyard purshase by the Kesselstatt family recorded in 1349. Some years later the von Kesselstatts had assumed responsibility of looking after the wines of the elector of Trier, and in 1777 the Emperor Josef II elevated the barons of Kesselstatt to Reichgrafs. The estate acquired  four former monasteries of St Maximin and their vineyards between 1854 and 1889, and these make up the present estate.

Gunther Reh bought the estate in 1978, and it has been run by his daughter Annegret since 1983. With 12 ha each in Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, and with holdings in many presitigeous sites, including Josephshofer, Bernkasteler Doctor and Scharzhofberg etc, von Kesselstatt was one of the first estates to offer Grosses Gewaches wines.

Langhe DOC

The Langhe DOC is a relatively new legal entity and it covers a large area of wine growing and wine making territory, which is home tyo many famous Piedmont names, such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Asti etc. Of course this limits what the vignerons can grow and also excludes all the famous international varieties. Sometimes a grower would like to tinker with some aspect of a traditional recipe, or they would like to try their hand at growing and making wine out of a famous international variety; of course they could resort to Vino di Tavola (like the pioneering Super-Tuscan growers did) but the emergence of the Langhe DOC allows them to use this legal category to sell their wines.

Champagne Gardet

Champagne Gardet was founded by Charles Gardet in the late 19th century in Epernay. In 1930 his son moved into a Belle Epoque residence in the premier cru village of Chigny-les-Roses to further develop the establishment. Now owned by the Prieure family, they have continued to balance traditional ways with modern wine making techniques to give a distinctive Gardet style, for example the base wines for their vintage Prestige Charles Millisime (the current brand name for the above wine) do not undergo malolactic fermentation to give better keeping qualities to the finished champagne. Their range include a premier Cru champagne as well as a demi-sec one.

Isole e Olena

Although this is the only product I have tried from the estate, Isole e Olena is a famous estate from the Chianti Classico area producing great Tuscany red wines and it is made up of two farms (Isole and Olena) were acquired by the de Marchi family in 1950 (hence the name). Although the current owner (fourth generation vigneron) Paolo was raised in Piedmont, he has always trasured his Tuscan roots. Initially disappointed with the requirements to add white grapes into the Chianti blend, he was intrigued by the possibility of adding grapes from outside Tuscany (especially international ones like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) to improve the blend. However he decided that clonal selection of the Sangiovese was the better answer and that Cabernet could overpower Sangiovese in the blend and would consider adding Syrah if the Sangiovese harvest requires some help. Apart from Chianti, Paolo produces IGT wines from his Cabernet and Syrah grapes, just as he also produces a pure Sangiovese (before the laws were changed to allow Chianti to be pure Sangio). Of course he also produces the delicious Vin Santo above.

Azienda Uccelleria

I was offered a glass of this wine by friends on a neighbouring table at the end of a wine dinner earlier this year. I must say I am not familiar with the producers of Brunello but Hugh Johnson's book informs me that this is a good producer. The name Uccelleria means bird house, which I suppose, explains the label, and the estate was acquired by Andrea Cortonesi in 1986. His family has been involved with agriculture in the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate and the estate comprises more than just vineyards and includes olive trees which produce oil for sale too.Cortonesi built a new winery and cellar, and apart from 2 grades of Brunello and a Rosso, he also produces an IGT Rapace which adds Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon into the blend.

The Josephshofer label

This is a revival of an old label from the 1870s which the Estate has used for its Josephshofer wine since the 2003 vintage. This old label is divided into 4 quadrants, each with a popular maxim and a picture. Clockwise, from top left, there are "Red, was wahr ist" (tell the truth) showing a hunter listening attentively to a story; "Trink, was klar ist) (drink what's pure) with a drinker raising a glass; "Lieb, was war ist" (Love what's precious/rare) with a suitor on his knees before a maiden and "Iss, was gar ist" (eat what has been fixed) with a family seated at meal. The original was sent in by a customer and the estate has decided to use this label for their Josephshofer monopole to highlight the exclusive nature of this wine.