Winemaker Notes
Bold, beautiful, an explosion of fruit, with the hallmark elegance of the hills. Crafting exceptional Brunello requires a deep understanding of the intricacies and subtleties of Sangiovese. A remarkable wine, much like a masterpiece painting, comprises various elements seamlessly blended together, creating a whole that transcends the individual components.
Pair with braised or grilled meats, game, aged cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is a remarkable Brunello from a COVID-19 vintage that launched many curveballs at producers. The Castello Romitorio 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is noticeably a step above its peers thanks to its seamless mouthfeel, its bright fruit concentration and its balanced freshness. It ages in oak for 24 months, and the grapes are picked from a site with cool clay soils. The finish is soft and polished. If you were to buy one village Brunello from the accessible 2020 vintage, let me direct your attention to this wine.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a mix of seven to eight estate parcels around the castle and brought up mostly in 5,000-liter Slavonian oak, the 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino is pure and beautifully composed. The nose reveals ripe red cherries, fresh orange, pressed flowers, suede, and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, it has supple tannins, balanced acidity, and a clean, mouthwatering finish that makes it hard to resist early.
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Wine Spectator
Intense black cherry, blackberry, violet and mineral aromas and flavors are the hallmarks of this taut, well-delineated red. Securely bound by the resonant structure, its refined tannins are assertive and beautifully integrated. The terrific aftertaste picks up elements of wild herbs, and this is amazingly long. A standout for the vintage.
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Decanter
The epitome of elegance and impossible to resist now, this has an easygoing, gentle quality without lacking intrigue or nuance. It trades on its gorgeous freshness, and its suave tannins are seamlessly integrated, melding with and moulding a nucleus of toothsome woodland berries. Hints of orange zest and ginseng flit throughout, and the finish is defined by a savoury twist. The estate’s denser, more structured Filo di Seta bottling is equally worth seeking out.
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Vinous
The 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is vividly fresh and focused, with a cascade of dried strawberry, minty herbs and shaved cedar forming its seductive bouquet. This is a model of purity, with silky textures and a graceful feel. It showcases ripe red berry fruits complicated by a tactile staining of minerality. A gentle tug of fine tannins defines the finish. Hints of sour citrus mix with tart blackberry and licorice.
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.