Wines

98 Points! 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. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

97 Points! A silky texture announces this cherry-, blackberry- and violet-flavored red, along with notes of graphite, tobacco and wild herbs. Well-structured, with profound yet finely wrought tannins and an extra dimension of finesse that stands out. Boasting superb balance and a seemingly never-ending aftertaste, this is multidimensional and focused. - Wine Spectator

98 Points! So floral and fresh with rose stem, sandalwood and orange blossom. Cherries, too. Full-bodied yet reserved and held back with creamy fine tannins and a beautiful finish. Shows brightness and finesse. Silky texture. One of the best I have had from here. A Brunello that emphasizes purity of fruit. Give this three to four years more. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

100 Points! The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is every bit as thrilling as it was on the many occasions I tasted it from barrel. Black cherry, hard candy, plum, rose petal, menthol and lavender saturate the palate in a sumptuous, racy Brunello endowed with magnificent depth and pedigree. An utterly stunning, sensual wine, the 2010 constantly changes in the glass as it conquers all the senses with an exotic kaleidoscope of aromas, flavors and textures. I remember tasting the 2010 from cask a few years ago when Diego Molinari was too unwell to go down to the cellar. Nora Molinari tasked me with essentially serving myself as we went from vintage to vintage and cask to cask. For days after, I was mortified that I might not have closed some of the spigots tightly enough. Fortunately, that was not the case. In all of my years tasting the wines of Montalcino, I have only come across two wines with this level of textural unctuosity and sweetness; Gianfranco Soldera's 1983 Brunello and 1990 Riserva. Cerbaiona's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino will leave readers weak at the knees. It is every bit that profound. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! The 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino pours a bright red color and shows more aromatic restraint than the 2021. The nose shows wild raspberries, darker berries, and dried floral tones, with a more muted, understated frame. Medium to full-bodied, it offers ripe tannins, balanced acidity, and solid length, although it feels a touch less polished than the 2021 at this stage. It should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years. Drink 2026-2041. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points! Intense, vibrant aromas of strawberries and raspberries, together with cola and flowery notes. Milk and mint nuances, too. Shows a lot of licorice elegance and blood-orange freshness on both the nose and palate with firm, velvety tannins and well-packed, brilliant acidity and a polished finish. Good aftertaste and amazing potential. Very classic. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Enticing aromas of red cherries, dried strawberries and hints of plums, cedar, sandalwood and balsamic. Medium-bodied with a tight and rich center palate and a chewy and powerful finish. This needs time to come together and soften slightly. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Aromas of new leather, spiced black plum, violet and camphor unfold on the bold and beautiful 2021 Brunello Pianrosso. Combining power and restraint, the full-bodied palate delivers layers of ripe Morello cherry, raspberry jam, licorice and fine tobacco blend before a spiced orange zest close. Velvety, enveloping tannins provide seamless support. - Kerin O'Keefe

98 Points! I really appreciate the dark-berry and burnt-orange aromas that follow through to a full body, very integrated tannins and a ripe, juicy fruit character. Savory, succulent and salty. Hints of chocolate and salted nuts. So juicy and gorgeous. A fabulous red. - JamesSuckling.com

100 Points! The drop-dead gorgeous Gianni Brunelli stopped me in my tracks with its stunning fragrance of freshly picked violet, iris, forest berry, leather and eucalyptus. All about extreme elegance, the palate is equally captivating, delivering layers of succulent Morello cherry, wild raspberry, blood orange, dark spice and crushed mint. Taut, ultra-refined tannins provide seamless support while fresh acidity keeps it vibrant and impeccably balanced. While it’s already incredibly tempting, it also promises years of graceful aging. Hats off to Laura Brunelli and her team. - Kerin O'Keefe

97 Points! Pouring a bright red hue, the 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino is persistent and fantastic, with youthful tension and expressive aromatics of Bing cherries, orange zest, and iron-tinged earth. The palate is medium-bodied and focused, with refined tannins, refreshing acidity, and savory length framed by salty earth and bright fruit through the finish. It’s a complete, elegant Brunello that should continue to improve with time in bottle. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

100 Points! Complex aromas of walnut, dark fruit, stone, oyster shell, chalk and dried fruits. This shows fabulous intensity and balance with layer upon layer of fruit and polished tannins. Builds on the palate. It goes on for minutes. - JamesSuckling.com

95+ Points! Made from the estate's oldest vines, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is a bold and powerful wine that shows enormous precision and grit. On the Brunello scale, this expression from Siro Pacenti offers more dark fruit, plum, spice, tar and smoke. The wine reveals beautiful density and an important mouthfeel that hits the palate with seductive determination. This wine is holding up beautifully since I tasted it last and has even improved in terms of its complexity and overall elegance. It still has a long way to go. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com, 2019