Castello Romitorio Brunello tasting with Special Guest Filippo Chia

"A man will be eloquent if you give him good wine." --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It seems that most of my favorite wines start with the letter “B”, Barolo, Barbaresco, Bordeaux, Burgundy and of course Brunello di Montalcino.  We have been hosting an annual tasting featuring the newest releases from this region of Italy for twenty years now.  That tasting is in April/May and although we do not have the exact date on the calendar as of yet we do know the vintage will be the highly anticipated 2015 vintage.

We also host a vintage Brunello tasting going back as far as we can and even tough this DOCG holds their wine back longer than any other, it is mandatory that you can’t release the wine until 5 years after the vintage and in great years the wines still need an additional 10-15 years in the cellar. 

Whenever we have a wine personality in town from this region we also welcome them to Wine Watch to showcase as many vintages of their wines as we can and when Filippo Chia from Castello di Romitorio called and said he was coming to town, we immediately added a date to the tasting calendar to feature this up and coming next generation winemaking family to the Wine Bar for a tasting.  We have Castello Romitorio going back to 2003 vintage in stock and we will be tasting a dozen wines from this outstanding producer on Friday, February 6th.

Join us as we welcome Filippo Chia back to South Florida for a tasting of the current releases as well as a few vintage wines from our cellar.  This is a seated tasting and is limited to 24 tasters, chef Toni Lampasone will be preparing a special meal to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $125 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

Castello Romitorio Tuscan Wine Tasting
With Special Guest Filippo Chia
Friday, February 7th 2020
7:30pm

2018 Castello Romitorio Rose Toscana IGT
List Price: $17.75 Sale $15.62

This Rosato di Toscana wine is made from Sangiovese grapes grown in vineyards that produce some of the region’s best red wines. This rosé is crisp, bright, and of high quality. A perfect wine for enjoying under the Tuscan sun. After picking, the grapes are hand sorted and carefully destemmed, then left to macerate for approximately 5 hours until the juice obtains the desired delicate pink onion color, before gentle pressing. The precious juice is then transferred into stainless steel vats where first filtration takes place at controlled low temperatures, with fermentation beginning only after the temperatures are raised.  -castelloromitorio.com

2004 Castello Romitorio Romito Di Romitorio

Price: $56.00        Your Price: $49.28

2006 Castello Romitorio Romito Di Romitorio
Price: $56.00        Your Price: $49.28        Quantity in Stock: 8

2007 Castello Romitorio Romito Di Romitorio
Price: $56.00        Your Price: $49.28        Quantity in Stock: 6

These three older vintages of Romito are a blend of 60% Sangiovese 20% Cabernet Sauvignon  and 20% Caniolo  aged 14 months in French barriques.

2017 Castello Romitorio Romito Di Romitorio
Price: $22.50        Your Price: $19.80

Fruit is foremost: Marasca cherry meets ripe plum in a gutsy, full-bodied package. On the palate there is ample fruit, freshness and quite a bit of body: the tannins are bold but countered by so much fruit that they attain an almost mochavanilla sweetness and come across smooth on the dense, full body. The finish is warming and rounded, a mouthful of big, fruity exuberance that keeps its mojo for quite a number of years.  Anne Krebiehl MW

Romitòro is an elegant blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot that expresses the benefits of a moderate climate such as Tuscany’s, where vines grow naturally without needing irrigation and yield an excellent quantity and quality of fruit.

The resulting wine is a bold Super Tuscan that attests to the fact that French varietals can thrive in Tuscany and give exceptional quality, whilst retaining an undeniably Tuscan character.

This wine is aged for approximately 12 months in oak and is unfiltered.

2017 Castello Romitorio Rosso di Montalcino
Price: $31.75        Your Price: $

A bright and expressive red wine produced in Montalcino from the estate’s youngest Sangiovese vineyards. The result is a classic Tuscan red that possesses all the grace and power associated with youth.

Montalcino is an area particularly suited to the production of fine wines, and Rosso di Montalcino was recognized as a designation of origin in 1983, giving the opportunity to produce two designations of origin from the same vineyards for the first time in Italy; Brunello, destined for lengthy ageing, and the fresher, more vivacious Rosso di Montalcino. It can be made only from Sangiovese grapes, and can be marketed only from the beginning of September in the year following that of harvest.

Like Brunello, Rosso di Montalcino is an excellent expression of Montalcino tradition and terroir.

Limpid garnet color, translucent. Appetizing nose so typical for Sangiovese: the tangy aroma of Marasca cherry.  With increasing bottle age, this cherry fruit turns from fresh and crisp to mellow and dried, in the young wines the fruit is pristine, varying in intensity with each vintage.  The body is sinewy and bone-dry: not a prettified, mollified Sangiovese but a wine as rugged as the land.  There is fine, bright acidity and a lovely tannic grip. This has impact but is not heavy. A little age sits wonderfully on this rustic charmer: bottle age will give you scents of leather, wild thyme and polished wood.
Anne Krebiehl MW

2013 Castello Romitorio Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG
List Price: $58.50 Your Price: $51.48

The Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino is our flagship wine and reflects more than 30 years of working in harmony with nature within the terroir of Montalcino. It is a wine that expresses the Montalcino territory with purity and embodies the finest aspects o f the area’s longstanding tradition of cultivating world class Sangiovese. The Romitorio estate has vineyards in the Northwest area of Montalcino. Our classic Brunello is produced with Sangiovese grapes carefully harvested and selected by hand on the sorting table, both before and after destemming. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks with an initial short period of cold maceration (below 20°C) on the skins for about 15-20 hours. This is followed by up to 20 days of maceration at a higher controlled temperature. Malolactic fermentation that is naturally caused then lasts for about 10 days, before the wine is rested to separate the lees. The wine matures in oak for approximately 24 months, and after bottling the wine is aged in Castello Romitorio’s temperature-controlled cellars for approximately an additional 12 months before release. -castelloromitorio.com

2013 Castello Romitorio Filo Di Seta Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $106.00      Your Price: $93.28        Quantity in Stock: 18

(94 points) Made with fruit from a slightly cooler site, the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta takes a few minutes to open but is well worth the wait. Despite the tight and nervous character of Sangiovese, this wine is suddenly generous, opulent and exuberant all at once. It's like meeting a person for the first time who initially seems shy, but then who suddenly moves in for the big bear hug. Its disposition is as generous as it is genuine. The mouthfeel is textured, supple and warm.  -Wine Advocate

2006 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $79.75        Your Price: $70.18        Quantity in Stock: 8

Fresh wild strawberry like fruit on the nose with distinct Tuscan terroir and leather saddle nuance. Fresh red berry fruit on the tongue with firm tannins and a long finish. A very nice savory finish on this wine with a good amount of tannins with notes of graphite minerality and dark spices through the long finish. Finish 50+ Most Excellent

2006 Castello Di Romitorio Riserva Brunello Di Montalcino
Price: $137.00      Your Price: $120.56      Quantity in Stock: 6

(94 Points) ~~A lush style, boasting cherry, plum, tobacco and spice aromas and flavors, all backed by searing acidity and assertive, if refined, tannins. Starts out in a more modern style, finishing with grip and elegance. Best from 2015 through 2032. 700 cases made. –BS  Wine Spectator, Issue: Jul 31, 2012

Menu

Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie

Burrata wrapped in Prosciutto and grilled in Romaine lettuce with Balsamic Glaze

Osso Bucco Ravioli with Wild Mushroom Sangiovese red wine sauce

Veal Saltimbocca with wilted Spinach

Almond Biscotti with Grappa whipped Crème

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $125 + tax per person.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

Castello Romitorio - The Next Generation of Brunello Producers

Castello Romitorio is located on a hilltop overlooking the Val d'Orcia and facing the township of Monalcino, in the province of Siena.  The castle, surrounded on three sides by thick oak forests, rests in the northwestern quadrant of Montalcino, at an altitude of 450 meters.  On a clear evening, one can see the city of Siena over forty kilometers in the distance. 

Castello Romitorio, a massive twelfth-century hilltop fortress in Montalcino, since 1986 has produced exquisite Tuscan wines, grappa and olive oil in the best traditions of the region.  After acquiring the estate in 1984, artist Sandro Chia spent the next several years restoring Castello Romitorio and transforming its lands into vineyards.  He promptly constructed a cellar on the castle's ground floor with the most advanced equipment on the market, with a keen respect for ancient techniques.  To ensure the highest quality possible Sandro has recently enlisted the expertise of one of Italy's leading enologists, Carlo Ferrini.

Since Sandro Chia bottled his first "Romito del Romitorio" in 1984, he has made clear that his pursuit of artistic perfection displays itself not only on the painted canvas but also in the glass.  Over twenty years of success in art and winemaking has given Castello Romitorio the opportunity to refine their methods even further.

The rest of the Castello Romitorio wines in the store:

2006 Castello di Romitorio Rosso Di Montalcino
Price: $25.50        Your Price: $22.44        Quantity in Stock: 1

2003 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $79.75        Your Price: $70.18        Quantity in Stock: 4

2004 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $99.00        Your Price: $87.12        Quantity in Stock: 6

2005 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $78.00        Your Price: $68.64

2006 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Magnum
Price: $177.00      Your Price: $155.76      Quantity in Stock: 3

2008 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $65.00        Your Price: $57.20

2009 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $68.00        Your Price: $59.84

2007 Castello Romitorio Riserva Brunello di Montalcino
Price: $125.00      Your Price: $110.00      Quantity in Stock: 4

2010 Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Price: $119.00      Your Price: $104.72      Quantity in Stock: 2

2012 Castello Romitorio Brunello Di Montalcino Reserva DOCG
Price: $141.25      Your Price: $124.30      Quantity in Stock: 1