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

97 Points! Costanti's 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is stunning. Dark, powerful and mysterious in the glass, the 2010 captivates all the senses with its breathtaking beauty and layered, multi-dimensional personality. Lavender, violets, savory herbs, smoke, plums and graphite flow through to the rich, explosive finish. There is a prism-like sense of transparency allied to pure power in the 2010 that is impossible miss. Readers who can find the 2010 should not hesitate; it is a must-have. While many 2010s are approachable today, the Costanti's 2010 is not; it is a wine for the cellar. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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

95 Points! Beautifully ripe and intense, the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino never feels overdone or too heavy. In fact, it treads with the lightest of footprints imparting delicate tones of rose petal, forest berry, white cherry, balsam herb and sweet almond as it flutters over the senses. The main message here is elegance and this wine is profoundly eloquent on the subject. The mouthfeel is tight silky and enduring. Delicate mineral notes give focus and definition to the finish. This is a classic Brunello from an iconic vintage. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

97 Points! A restrained wine that’s complex and deep, with aromas of cherry stones, butter, fresh violets, orange peel and prunes. Firm tannins with a grainy texture, yet it has a sweet finish, super-energetic acidity and a full body. Flavors of blood oranges and violets. Perfect balance and incredible aging potential. A super classic. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Definitely among the vintage’s anomalies, Il Marroneto’s 2020 is more overtly structured than its 2019 counterpart. While the latter verges on dainty and ethereal, the 2020 is steelier in resolve and almost austere by comparison. Proprietor Alessandro Mori also felt it needed longer in wood, so this saw a total of 45 months in Slavonian oak casks. Subtle and sweet to start, it flits with strawberry and cherry blossom before taking on earthier tones. Elegantly weighted but still tight, the palate is built around pure red cherry and raspberry, embedded with nutmeg and incense. Chalky and layered, the tannins sport an assertive bite. -Decanter Magazine  

96 Points! The Il Marroneto 2020 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of special depth and elegance. Alessandro Mori tells me that fermentation in 2020 proceeded nicely with what he describes as a "primordial stew" of grape must, resulting in high pressure "geysers" or "liquid bombs" that rip right through the cap because of pressure build-up. Someone is having tons of fun in the winery. High temperatures (between 36 to 38 degrees Celsius) serve to fix the wine's ruby color and the elegance of its perfumes, which are more floral than fruity. At the end of fermentation, he manages the skins with light wetting by hand with a tube. This vintage offers softness and a silky texture that feels glossy to the palate. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com