Winemaker Notes
Excellent with red meats and game.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Subtle cherry, orange-peel and floral notes on the nose. Medium body, firm tannins and a long, fresh finish. Shows intensity and structure with length. Linear and fresh. Minerally. Try after 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
If you consider all the glorious vineyard sites in Montalcino, Campo del Drago must be one of the most beautiful. The vines sit on a flat plateau surrounded by wild forests with views that extend south all the way to the Tyrrhenian Sea and the sleepy farming town of Grosseto. The site is just spectacular, and cooling elevations reach 430 meters above sea level. The mid-weight 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Campo del Drago reflects the sun-drenched nature of its namesake vineyard with ripe cherry, plum cake and mild oak spice.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and focused, delivering cherry, strawberry, peony, tobacco and stony mineral flavors. This red is supported by a firm structure, whose tannins are refined and well-integrated. Fine length. Best from 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
New leather, truffle and pipe tobacco aromas waft out of the glass. Full-bodied and enveloping, the smooth, accessible palate offers ripe black cherry, fleshy plum and licorice accompanied by velvety, close-grained tannins. Drink through 2027.
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Wine & Spirits
A spot of rain in early September helped mitigate the hot and arid conditions of the 2017 growing season at this estate in the northwestern sector of Montalcino, and that restraint shows in the high-toned aromas and flavors of this single-cru wine. Scents of wild herbs and rose petals lead into flavors of red cherry and cassis, those red fruit tones taking on notes of smoke, spice and caramel with exposure to air.
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.