2021 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
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The 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a bright red hue and has a beautifully chiseled, energetic profile that captures the vintage. The nose is expressive with redcurrants, preserved cherries, incense, chestnut, leather, anise, and sage. Medium to full-bodied, it is nimble and fresh on the palate, with polished tannins, brisk acidity, and a long finish marked by saline and sanguine accents. Drink this terrific wine over the coming 15-20 years. Drink 2026-2046. Located on the northern slopes of the Montalcino region, surrounded by forest, Castello di Romitorio has produced wines that were impressive across the range, expressive of purity, mineral intensity, finesse, and power without weight. The tannin management is remarkable across the range of the wines tasted for this report. They were tasted at the estate with founder Sandro Chia’s son, Filippo Chia. Also included in this report are his wines from Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte, their sister estate in Scansano.
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Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Eric Guido, Vinous
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Castello Romitorio’s 2021 Brunello di Montalcino channels much of the estate’s fruit over seven plots, as no Riserva was produced, resulting in a wine of notable depth and cohesion. Whispered and delicate at first, the bouquet unfolds with white pepper, blue flowers and grilled herb before moving toward darker tones of sweet blackberry. The palate is open-knit yet powerful, showing juicy ripeness, layered complexity and a structured mid-palate that remains streamlined in classic Sangiovese fashion. Fermented in cement with maceration times tailored to the thickness of the skins from each plot, typically ranging from 18 to 24 days and extending up to 30 days when needed, the wine was aged for 24 months in oak, with 90% in large barrels and 10% in second- and third-passage tonneaux. Produced in 42,000 bottles, this Brunello will benefit from additional cellaring.
Cedar spice box mixes with incense, cloves and dried black cherries as the expressive 2021 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. Elegant with a wildly appealing energy, the 2021 displays masses of ripe wild berry fruits beneath an air of violet inner florals. It finishes with incredible length and concentration, perfectly framed by a coating of sweet tannin. This young, radiant Brunello is sure to have many fans.