Winemaker Notes
There is an astonishing and disarming consistency in this wine across the vintages. As a Riserva this has already had ample time to become itself, to show its honest soul: we find rugged soil, icy winters and warming sunshine, we find wilderness and something epic that years cannot smudge or alter. It is muscular and strong. This wine just is. The warming alcohol counters the incisive acidity, the tannins, enmeshed and resolving, still have their drying, unrelenting streak. Dried notes of Marasca cherry still shimmer. With increasing age the savory elements increase: more salt, more herbs, more soil. For me, this all boils down to one word: honesty.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Some very bright flowers and dried red berries, all making this an attractive fresh impression. There are good aromatic details here. A really focused palate with a vibrant core of tangy cherries with a nice acid kick in the finish. Try from 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Castello Romitorio has cool vineyard sites and is one of the few estates that performs consistently in the warmest years. That's why the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is just so darn good. This estate has tweaked its winemaking style over the years to produce increasingly elegant and streamlined wines. There is finesse here, but you also get bold cherry fruit, moist earth, cured tobacco and grilled herb. The mouthfeel is silky and smooth, with good acidity on the close. Only 2,900 bottles were made.
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Wine Spectator
This is rich, with a dense matrix of tannins, yet also boasts cherry, floral and spice flavors. Touches of tobacco and earth round out the flavor profile as this extends on the finish. Finely balanced, this should be approachable soon. Best from 2020 through 2035.
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.