Winemaker Notes
Vibrant aromas of ripe berries, pepper, and sweet cinnamon, accented by delicate hints of white flowers. The palate is rich yet balanced, with refreshing acidity and fine tannins, offering a lively sip without being overly ripe. Elegant and expressive, this wine reflects the character of the vintage with a great aging potential.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Darkly alluring, the 2020 Brunello di Montalcino emerges with an earthy blend of crushed blackberries, grilled herbs and smoky, ashen stones. This displays textures of pure silk and a core of ripe wild berries complicated by flinty mineral tones, rosemary and hints of blood orange, all guided by brilliant acidity. The 2020 finishes with dramatic length and classical structure, leaving a spicy sensation and lingering nuances of red plum. Castiglion del Bosco has captured a remarkable depth and concentration here that's atypical of the vintage.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of cloves, pine needles, bing cherries and dried cranberries create a spicy, warm nose, while the fruit ripens on the palate without losing that snappy freshness. Firm tannins and linear, decisive acid fortify undertones of earth and salt.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino has a deep brick red color and is ripe with aromas of black cherries, tarry earth, rosemary, lavender, and sweet tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, it saturates the palate with ripe tannins, savory notes of tea leaf, even acidity, and a very well-balanced finish. It boasts a good deal of depth and is going to offer a wide window for enjoyment over the coming 12-15 years.
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James Suckling
Fruit-forward with a combination of blue fruit and red-fruit jam that follows through to a medium body with medium, round tannins and a fruity finish. Polished. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Castiglion del Bosco 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is a softly enriched and contemporary interpretation of Sangiovese in which ripeness and oak aging play big roles in shaping the final product. The wine is plush and soft and definitely feels like it is geared to an international palate that is less interested in the acidic sharpness and rigidity of traditional Brunello. Blackberry and dried cherry cede to cured tobacco and barbecue ash. The finish is on the dry side.
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Decanter
With 2,000 hectares, mostly of woodlands, Castiglion del Bosco dominates Montalcino’s northwestern quadrant. Vineyards bathe in the intense light that bounces off the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea. The 2020 echoes that luminosity as it wafts with fragrances of Mediterranean scrub on a warm, sunny day. The palate brings in ripe strawberry, red cherry and cola. Acidity is soft and mellow yet still lends a fresh twist, and the smooth tannins frame the wine effortlessly, ending with a characterful finish of bitter orange and cocoa.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and dense in both flavor and structure, this red exhibits black cherry, blackberry, tar and forest underbrush notes. Its beefy tannins frame the finish, keeping this compact and a bit rustic today. Best from 2028 through 2042.
Situated in the province of Siena where the renown area of "Brunello di Montalcino" is found, Castiglion del Bosco encompasses approximately 4,450 acres of land, 125 of which are vineyards with plans to plant 15 more acres. The farm is located between the historic towns of Buonconvento and Montalcino. Given the truly magnificent geographical position of the estate, perched on a hill looking down onto the surrounding valleys, exposure is optimal resulting in wines of excellent quality. These are very exciting wines, new and classic at the same time.
Castiglion del Bosco was the first to produce and bottle Brunello di Montalcino in the sixties and today represents one of the most important properties of this region. Plans are currently underway to produce new wines and expand the existing cellar. This estate prides itself on the highest level of quality combined with respect for tradition. Claudio Basla, from Altesino, also consults at Castiglion del Bosco insuring the same levels of quality that we have always enjoyed from that estate.
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.