Notable for its pure cherry and kirsch aromas and flavors, this red is also stylish and graceful. Rose, wild thyme and stony mineral elements come into play as this develops on the palate. Beautifully integrated, fresh and firm, this glides to a long, resonant aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2042. 3,800 cases made, 730 cases imported.
Featured as: - "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" on Wine Spectator's Advanced - "HOT WINE" on Wine Spectator's Insider Weekly
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Darkly alluring and spicy, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino emanates from the glass with an earthy blend of crushed rocks, savory herbs, spiced blood orange and dried cherries. This soothes the palate with its soft textures and depths of and dried cherries. This soothes the palate with its soft textures and depths of wild berry fruit. Brisk acidity and mineral tones add lift but also depth. The wild berry fruit. Brisk acidity and mineral tones add lift but also depth. The 2019 finishes dramatically long and structured, turning youthfully inward on itself as orange and rosy inner florals resonate. The house style is on full display here, elevated by the radiant fruits of the 2019 vintage.
The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino opens to dried cassis and cranberry, and there is a hint of something floral and fragile, like crushed red rose petals or potpourri. However, the wine also shows growing momentum, especially as it opens in the glass and you start to recognize dark spice, clove, bay leaf and thyme. There is a point of sweetness on the mid-palate, even some dried raspberry, rendering an overall more accessible wine. Compared to the brilliant fruit in the Filo di Seta, this village wine has drier notes with hints of daisy greens and dried currant.
Filippo Chia's Castello Romitorio is on fire. All of his wines are enjoying a well-deserved moment in the spotlight, and I am blown away by this year's beautiful Filo di Seta. That's a bottle I want to drink by the fireplace, and it is certainly the best vintage I have tasted so far. The mineral nuances in 2019 are spectacular. Filippo's other wine project is Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte in Maremma, and unfortunately, he is not making his 2023 Morellino di Scansano. However, he is adding a Syrah starting with the 2021 vintage. His Romito wine will be 100% Petit Verdot starting in the 2019 vintage.
Polished and refined wine with aromas of wild strawberries, dark cherries and violets. Rich and full-bodied with balanced, soft acidity. Firm and fine-grained tannins. Energetic. Better after 2027.
Darkly alluring and dusty in style, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino impresses with a blend of dried citrus peels, shavings of cedar, flowery undergrowth, black cherries and Tuscan dust. It’s soft-textured, buoyant even, with depths of velvety, textural red and blue fruits and sweet liquid inner violet tones that stain the palate. The 2018 finishes fresh and long with notions of wild blueberry and hints of balsamic spice, framed by a coating of fine tannin. Romitorio used all of their fruit that is usually reserved for the Riserva to bolster their Brunello in 2018. Production was also down by 15% due to a strict selection to eliminate moldy berries. That said, this is a total success for the vintage.
I like the dried violet undertones to the red and blue fruit, along with some walnut husk and olive. There’s so much flavor here, packed into a compact core framed by silky, firm tannins. Dense and focused. Try after 2024.
The Castello Romitorio 2018 Brunello di Montalcino shows crisp and tart fruit with cherry, cassis and wild plum. This mid-weight wine offers a lot of freshness and brightness in a vintage that posed challenges for many. This expression is unique thanks to the inner energy displayed here; the red fruit is front and center and the wine's balanced acidity seals the deal. It ages in oak for two years. Some 46,000 bottles were made.
A graceful red hallmarked by cherry, strawberry, rose, mineral and Mediterranean herbs. Lacy and succulent yet firm, ending on the minerally side. Vibrant and long. Best from 2025 through 2042. 3,800 cases made, 680 cases imported.
Darkly alluring and dusty in style, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino impresses with a blend of dried citrus peels, shavings of cedar, flowery undergrowth, black cherries and Tuscan dust. It’s soft-textured, buoyant even, with depths of velvety, textural red and blue fruits and sweet liquid inner violet tones that stain the palate. The 2018 finishes fresh and long with notions of wild blueberry and hints of balsamic spice, framed by a coating of fine tannin. Romitorio used all of their fruit that is usually reserved for the Riserva to bolster their Brunello in 2018. Production was also down by 15% due to a strict selection to eliminate moldy berries. That said, this is a total success for the vintage.
A creamy and dusty red with plum and cherry character, together with some bark and chocolate-powder flavors. It’s full and fresh with layers of tannins that hold it together. Give it time to soften. Best after 2024.
The Castello Romitorio 2017 Brunello di Montalcino comes from an estate that is quickly becoming a leader in a special niche of the Montalcino market. The wine is modern and soft, showing lots of contained ripeness and creaminess, yet it successfully embraces the fundamentals of the appellation and Sangiovese, thanks to its bright acidity and finely tuned structure. Few wines reach this level of precision, especially in a challenging vintage such as this.
Black cherry, blackberry, plum, iron, tobacco and spice flavors herald this brooding red, revealing a pliable feel midpalate, despite a matrix of stiff tannins that guard the finish. Best from 2025 through 2040. 2,500 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.
Darkly floral and with a mentholated lift, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino slowly blossoms in the glass with a blend of stone dust, dried cherries, pine shavings and sweet smoke. This is softer and more supple than expected, yet quickly builds with a mineral tension combined with tart wild berry fruits as the slightest trace of tangerine and cedar adds contrast toward the close. The 2016 leaves an enlivening orange tinge through the finish, along with gritty tannins and a slightly chewy sensation, tapering off dramatically long and youthfully tense. The potential here is very high, yet cellaring is still recommended.
The Castello Romitorio 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a classic expression of the vintage, showing lots of ripe fruit, crushed mineral, herbal nuances and varietal-driven purity. This wine nails that sweet spot between elegance and power that is not easily achieved. It offers an expanded array of Sangiovese flavors with wild cherry, forest floor, crushed clove and medicinal herb, but it also shows plump density and a velvety texture. Filippo Chia and his team have created a sold wine for medium or long-term drinking. Production is exactly 58,874 bottles.
A well structured red with lots of dried mushrooms, oysters and crushed stones. Dried blueberries and herbs, too. It’s full-bodied with firm tannins. A little dusty on the finish. Let it soften. Drink after 2024.
A core of pure black cherry marks this compressed red, which is fresh and balanced in its rigid way, with wild thyme, rosemary, iron and tobacco flavors. The aftertaste lingers with the fruit and balsamic elements. Best from 2025 through 2048. 4,900 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.
The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is laced with spicy, dark red fruits, wild, sweet and spicy floral tones that give way to savory herbs, hints of animal musk and black earth. On the palate, it's soft, enveloping, almost creamy in texture and offset by a mix of savory spice, fine tannin and saturating mineral tones as black cherry and sage seem to hover on the senses. The finish is spicy and long, structured, but also with vibrant primary fruits holding on strong, as a twang of savory herbs lingers long.
A dense and rich Brunello with lots of ripe fruit, spices and hints of new wood. Full-bodied, chewy and rich. A muscular wine that needs time to come together. Better after 2022.
The Castello Romitorio 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is a suave and supple expression that shows a slightly more opulent texture compared to many of its peers. The Castello Romitorio vineyards tend to be cool, both in terms of exposure and soils, and the estate shows its best results in a warm and sunny vintage exactly like 2015. You taste the natural richness and exuberance of the fruit, with variety-specific elements of wild cherry, blue flowers and soft earth. The house style prizes more width and latitude in terms of mouthfeel. That attractive medium to full-bodied style is achieved thanks to 24 months of oak aging. At the end of the day, the quality of the fruit is really what shines brightest here. Some 60,569 bottles were made, and the wine was released to the market in January 2020.
Bright cherry and currant flavors signal this muscular red, shaded by mineral and underbrush accents. Compact and full of tension, this is long and commands attention on the finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. 392 cases imported.