The Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino 2021 is an elegantly styled, precise, and multi-layered Old World red wine that beautifully captures the cool-climate energy of the estate's high-altitude northwest vineyards. It pours a brilliant, radiant ruby red colour into the glass, unfurling with an expressive and airy bouquet of Marasca cherry, pomegranate, and wild red berries, seamlessly layered with complex undercurrents of cedar spice box, incense, sandalwood, and sage. On the palate, this medium-to-full-bodied Sangiovese displays an open-knit yet powerful core of juicy summer fruits, structured deftly by a distinct stony minerality and chiseled freshness. Sourced from across seven plots—and absorbing all the flagship fruit because no Riserva was produced in 2021—it delivers remarkable depth and cohesion. Driven by vibrant, cool-toned acidity and densely woven, fine-meshed tannins, its sleek frame carries into an exceptionally long, savory finish accented by a lingering touch of soy, dark minerals, and crisp salinity.
Food Pairing: This highly structural and food-friendly Brunello pairs exquisitely with rich, savory, or gamy dishes, including slow-cooked osso buco, grilled prime ribeye steak with herbed butter, roasted venison, wild boar ragù, wild mushroom risottos, and hard, aged artisanal cheeses like Pecorino Toscano.
96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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.
95 Points - Wine Spectator
This is plush and features cherry, plum, wild herb, iron and spice flavors. Its tannins are well-integrated with the fleshy texture and resonant flavors, which gather steam by the lingering finish. Shows terrific balance and length overall.
