Winemaker Notes
What a nose: dark peony petals mix with violet and scented notes of both fresh and dried cherry. These aromas travel straight to the brain on a lifted note of polished wood. The same aromatic allure becomes immediately apparent on the palate: cherry and fragrant petals enrobe and cushion the fine but utterly taut tannins. A very serious wine that poses a lovely counterpoint of poised structure and flowing, almost billowing elegance; stern and forgiving at once. Every nuance of aroma is illuminated by Sangiovese’s electric acidity. Even in age, when earthier, more savory notes come to the fore the floral, silky allure captures palate, mind and heart in one go.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely perfumed and pure on the nose with bright and vivid, crushed cherry and berry character. Full body. Tight and poised with rich yet polished tannins and an ever so long finish. Needs at least three or four years to come together. Better after 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
We didn't see this wine in 2014, so it's nice to have it back. The Castello Romitorio 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta is born in a unique vineyard site that is characterized by a greater presence of schist or slate-like shards in the soils. These conditions contribute to the sharp and focused aromas you get here. Pencil shaving and granite rock come to mind. However, the wine is equally expressive when it comes to its ample fruit and floral profile, and there's enough spice and soft leather or tobacco to hold it all neatly together in one happy package. It ages in oak for 30 months. This wine marks an ideal marriage between vintage and soil.
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Wine Spectator
A well of plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit forms the heart of this red, with support from underbrush, iron and tobacco accents. Harnesses the wild side of Montalcino. Best from 2023 through 2043.
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Decanter
Filo di Seta is one of the estate's lower lying plots at 350 metres above sea level. It takes its name from a nearby creek said to resemble a thread of silk. At the moment, sweet oak nuances dominate the nose, eventually giving way to mint, tarragon and woodland flowers. It's fully charged and chewy, though the tannins are polished and it finishes with a lingering succulence. An expansive, exuberant Brunello that finds its balance. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030
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.