Winemaker Notes
There is something heady and invigorating about this: a lifted nose of oak and fruit with notions of Marasca cherry, violet and pomegranate. Earthy hints appear, too, as do nuances of sage and soy with increasing age. The body has densely woven, firm but fine tannins, according to the wine a great structure; a skeleton upon which fruit, oak and aroma can express themselves fully. The wine unfolds slowly in the glass, becoming more sinuous and sensuous with air while the gentle astringency of the tannins is very moreish. Bottle age brings welcome tertiary notes of leather and herb, both grip and aroma are long lasting. This is impressive upon release but even more true to itself with advancing age.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Elegantly woven together, the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino is herbaceous with compelling aromas of tarragon, red cherry preserve, medicinal herbs, saline, and dried rose petals. It displays graceful ease and arch through the palate, with its layers gently coaxing through a long finish. It is noted by red raspberry, sweet herbs, fresh orange, and softly textured stony earth, and it has refreshing acidity with a delicate throughline and ultra-fine tannins. This is an absolutely gorgeous and gracefully transparent expression to drink over the next 15-20 years. Rating: 95+
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James Suckling
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.
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Vinous
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.
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Wine Spectator
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.
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Decanter
Assembled from the estate’s highest altitude plots - between 350 and 450 metres - Castello Romitorio’s classic Brunello embodies the grace of the vintage without sacrificing depth or flavour. Aromas are ethereal at first, then take hold with fetching rosehip, liquorice root and juniper scents. Inner-mouth sweetness of pure cherry is offset by succulent acidity and powdery tannins. There's sneaky substance here with a lingering presence. The Filo di Seta may have more stuffing for ageing, but I can’t help being completely enamoured by the sheer elegance (for the price) of this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Robust and powerful from the start, the Castiglion del Bosco 2018 Brunello di Montalcino shows broad shoulders and ample brawn. But at the end of the day, the wine's concentration remains on the medium to medium-rich side of the spectrum. It stays firmly within the boundaries of Sangiovese. Dark fruit and blackcurrant segue to savory notes of toasted spice, black olive, earth and rusty nail.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.