Castello di Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta Riserva 2016

“Incredibly elegant design showing complexity and sensory purity described in the alternating scents of wild blackberries, blueberry juice, plums, liquorice, Barbour vanilla, orange rind, citronella, linden blossom, white almonds, dried cherries and fresh origano. The secondary profile is genuine and smooth giving nuances of rose petals and grapefruit blended with fondant chocolate. Full bodied, silky tannins of incredible workmanship and a finale with a precise and sartorial closure. A new label for Castello Romitorio which has chosen the best grapes from their Single Vineyard Filo di Seta for the first time after 6 years.”

“This is really powerful and intense with a full body, yet it remains agile and vivid. Chewy, but polished and classy. Persistent, yet weightless and floating. Black-cherry and dark-plum flavors with pine-cone and mushroom undertones. Give it at least five years to soften. Best after 2025.”

“After tasting and loving the annata, I had high expectations for the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Filo di Seta Riserva. This is youthfully restrained and grumbling in the glass, but it’s worth waiting for, as a captivating display of mentholated herbs, dusty rose, lavender, black cherries, hints of animal musk and crushed ashen stone evolves before your eyes. It’s deeply textural and polished in feel, but also full of zesty, cooling acidity that enlivens the sultry core of dark fruits and exotic spices. A saturation of tannin coats the palate, creating a massively structured and long finale with lingering remnants of salted licorice and inner violet tones. The 2016 Riserva Filo di Seta may be a masterpiece in the making, though it will be many years before it shows all of its hidden beauty.”

“The first ever Riserva from Castello Romitorio’s Filo di Seta plot, this is crafted from a handful of selected tonneaux – mostly used but a couple new. Significantly, it comes predominantly from early-picked grapes. Still in its infancy, the 2016 is not ready to divulge everything. Weighty with depths of wild, spicy, dark fruit, yet radiant in its acidity, a sturdy framework of tannins sticks to the palate with a pulverised, chalky texture giving immense grip. Anise, mint and clove show up on the finish. This bears a hefty price tag as Filippo Chia seeks to elevate the value of Montalcino.”

“Here's a new wine from Castello Romitorio, and it makes perfect sense that the Filo di Seta project should also be presented as a Riserva (although I did a double take when I saw the wine price). The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Filo di Seta is elongated and silky. It wraps smoothly over the palate with well-dosed fruit, tannic structure and brilliant acidity. It should be exciting to follow this wine over the cooler and the warmer vintages of the future. It ages in oak for 30 months. Only 3,900 bottles were created.”

“This red is linear, dense and concentrated, both for its black cherry, black currant and blueberry fruit and its fine-grained, dusty tannins. Lively and balanced, yet needs time to unwind and gain more of the complexity that's buried within. The fresh, lingering finish reveals mineral, soy and spice accents. Best from 2025 through 2043.”