09/04/2026 - Brunello for Burgundy Lovers - Castello Romitorio 2020, 2019, 2016 and 2011

I am pleased to offer a superb selection of Brunello from trailblazer Montalcino estate Castello Romitorio. Owned by the (living) Italian equivalent of Lucien Freud, this is the Montalcino estate of renowned artist Sandro Chia, a property on a massive ascendancy in terms of the wines it is producing, yet they remain at a thoroughly drinkable price. Sandro has amassed immense wealth through his art and sculpture (each wine has its own ART label), and there is little need for additional profit from his vinous project; instead, he just wants to see his wines being opened and consumed. Chia's art adorns both the labels of the bottles and the walls and floor of the cellar.
 
The wines produced at this estate are very much at the fine and elegant end of the Brunello spectrum – this is a Burgundy lover’s Sangiovese, perfumed and floral but equally intense, complex and sophisticated, all brimming with unmistakeable Montalcino terroir. The wines are hand picked and selected both before and after destemming, and yields are kept intentionally low to maximise the quality potential.
 
On offer here are the estate’s flagship Brunello di Montalcino - made from the finest parcels of estate grown fruit, this is wonderfully concentrated and brimming with minerality and the classic nutty aromas so typical in Montalcino Sangiovese - and the single vineyard Filo di Seta, which is characterised by abundant schist deposits in the soil, producing a wine brimming with bright red berries, flowers and crushed stones with the finest tannins one could hope for. It is easy to get lost in the bouquet of this wine, so beautifully elegant and gently evolving, and every sip is irresistibly more-ish. Below the 2020 and 2019s, also available are the last cases of the sensational 2011 Brunello and 2016 Brunello Riserva.

All wines are priced at the very bottom of the market. Do let me know what you would like.

Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino 2019

“The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino opens to dried cassis and cranberry, and there is a hint of something floral and fragile, like crushed red rose petals or potpourri. However, the wine also shows growing momentum, especially as it opens in the glass and you start to recognize dark spice, clove, bay leaf and thyme. There is a point of sweetness on the mid-palate, even some dried raspberry, rendering an overall more accessible wine. Compared to the brilliant fruit in the Filo di Seta, this village wine has drier notes with hints of daisy greens and dried currant.”
Drink 2025-2042
94 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate December 2023

 
Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino 2020

“This is a remarkable Brunello from a COVID-19 vintage that launched many curveballs at producers. The Castello Romitorio 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is noticeably a step above its peers thanks to its seamless mouthfeel, its bright fruit concentration and its balanced freshness. It ages in oak for 24 months, and the grapes are picked from a site with cool clay soils. The finish is soft and polished. If you were to buy one village Brunello from the accessible 2020 vintage, let me direct your attention to this wine. Production is 40,000 bottles.”
Drink 2025-2040
96 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate November 2024
 

Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino ‘Filo di Seta’ 2020

"Filippo Chia and his team kill it in this vintage. The Castello Romitorio 2020 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta is a beautiful and balanced wine. This estate is making some of the best Brunellos from Montalcino today. In the not too distant past, its vineyards were once considered too cool for ideal fruit ripening, but with climate change, the vines are now in a prime position for balanced phenolics, sugars and acidity. This wine shows a wide and complete bouquet, spanning many aromas, all delivered with direct vertical intensity. This is one of the delightful oxymorons that occurs with fine wine. It shows soft, building intensity, but most importantly, the fruit quality is bright and fresh (with 7,760 bottles made). This is a keeper.”
Drink 2026-2045
98 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate November 2024

Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino 2011

"The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is a plush, fruit-driven Sangiovese that reflects the best of its territory. Fruit comes from one of the coolest growing spots in the appellation, expressed here thanks to one of the hottest recent vintages. The results are nicely balanced. The bouquet reveals a pretty core of red fruit with background notes of spice, dried mint and balsam herb. The wine is rich and approachable in terms of tannic structure and the wine benefits from a tight vein of crisp acidity."
Drink 2017-2028
93 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate March 2016

 

Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016

"The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with 6,300 bottles made) works beautifully to produce a lasting sense of harmony that reflects the best qualities of this classic vintage. Part of that playlist is power, and indeed this wine registers 15% alcohol, which is high, but the freshness of these vineyard sites and the wine's acidity does a good job of mitigating that power. The fruit is polished and refined in this Riserva, and there is a pretty mix of both primary and even some distant tertiary character to shape a bouquet that is pure but also complex."
Drink 2023-2045
96 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate February 2022

2020s arriving in 1-2 weeks. Others in stock now

All wines offered subject to final confirmation, E&OE