A Brunello Legend's Delicious $15.99 Tuscan Red!
Self-made Tuscan icon Andrea Cortonesi produces amazing Brunello at both of his properties, Uccelliera and Voliero. What flies under the radar, however, are the less expensive reds he makes at these estates. We are thrilled to put one of these massive value wines in front of you today.
Packed with authentic Tuscan deliciousness, Andrea's 2023 Voliero Toscana Rosso sells for roughly a quarter of the price of his Brunello. At $15.99, this small production Sangiovese-based gem is a Voliero you can drink any night of the week for pennies on the dollar. The only downside is there isn't much made!
Read on our tasting notes on this wonderful bargain from Voliero, and for a crack at Andrea's "Wildly Successful" 2020 Voliero Brunello, then jump all over that Big Green Button to grab both!
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2023 Voliero Toscana Rosso
Tuscany, Italy
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As summer arrives, we find ourselves thirsting for delicious everyday red wines, and one of the world’s most exciting spots for versatile food friendly reds is Tuscany. When we first tasted the 2023 Voliero Toscana Rosso, we were blown away by the wine, and then totally floored when we saw the price!
Crafted entirely from hand harvested vineyards within Andrea's Voliero Brunello estate, this blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Syrah is fermented with wild yeasts and raised naturally. The result is a totally delicious and authentic Tuscan smart buy. Look for aromas and flavors of juicy cassis followed by dried strawberry, red flowers, lightly roasted herbs and a dash of black pepper with a grippy, nervy earthiness.
Give this half an hour in your fridge to get the temperature down to 60 degrees, then enjoy on a warm summer evening. It is incredible that an estate at this level of quality can produce such a pleasingly complex, and impressively structured red at this low of a price.
Whether you drink now or stash away for a few years, you’ll be thrilled with the results. We suspect that more than a few of you will be grabbing this by the case. This juice is way more impressive than its humble price tag would suggest.
Only a handful of listings popped up, with a median of $20. While it is worth every penny at that amount, our "beats all" price is 20% less!
Vin Chicago Price: 15.99
2020 Voliero Brunello di Montalcino
Tuscany, Italy
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Though Andrea's Uccelliera Brunello is more well known, his Voliero estate turns out a Brunello worthy of equal praise...
“Both of these Brunellos are wildly successful in 2020.”
- Vinous, Eric Guido (11/2023)
This charismatic Brunello is raised in a combination of traditional large Slovenian casks and small French barrels. As with the Rosso, production is small, a fraction of Uccelliera.
Generously packed with classic Brunello flavors of dried red fruits and flowers complemented with a big, rich, complex mouthfeel, this is a wine you can drink now or allow 2 to 3 years for it to come together even more. In 5 or 10 years, it will be even softer, longer and harder to resist.
This is a lovely, modern style Brunello that earns a strong 94 Points on our scale. Antonio Galloni goes even higher…
“The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is dusty and floral, with autumnal spice, dried citrus, lavender and blackberry forming its enticing bouquet. This impresses further with textures of pure silk guided by fresh acidity as a liquid floral concentration saturates. Tactile mineral tones add a salty sensation throughout, perfectly offsetting its ripe red fruit. Pleasantly chewy and dramatically long, the 2020 leaves the palate reeling with youthful tension as hints of tart black cherry and clove linger on. This presents a fantastic combination of elegance and structure. Drinking Window: 2027 - 2039.”
- 95 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni (11/2023)
Given that Voliero's 633 case production is only one-fifth of Uccelliera, it is not surprising we only found a handful of listings online. It is also not surprising that our price beats them all!
Vin Chicago Price: 58.99
