Description

Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino 2018

93 pts – Wine Spectator

Cherry, plum, leather, earth and tomato leaf flavors highlight this broad, beefy red, with iron and sanguine accents creeping in as this winds down on the finish. Succulent and long, with a dusty grip in the end. Best from 2027 through 2043.

94 pts – Wine Enthusiast

The nose has the delicacy of Mandarin orange blossoms, then tart Bing cherries and sweet wild strawberries, strewn over topsoil and sweet tobacco. The cherries are at perfect maturity on the palate, while that earth and smoke and spice lurk underneath.

96 pts – James Suckling 

This is really fine on the palate with wonderfully integrated tannins that give tension and focus. It’s medium-bodied with lovely berry, cherry, cedar and spice. Peaches and flower stems, too. Creamy texture. Extremely long and vivid. Structured, but showing beautiful drinkability with wonderful balance and form. One to drink or hold.

93 pts – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Showing sweet fruit, plump cherry, cured tobacco and perfumed redwood, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino has a savory side that is nicely folded into a generous core of pronounced fruit. The wine feels smooth and soft over the palate with velvety tannins. This is a bottle you can enjoy upon release if you so choose.

Overview

Castiglion del Bosco is one of the most prominent producers in Montalcino, both for the history of the estate and for its size, with 5,000 acres unchanged in the last 400 years. In 1967, when the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino was born, Castiglion del Bosco was one of its 25 founding members. This extraordinary property whose origin dates back to the 12th century was acquired by Massimo Ferragamo in 2003, who in turn totally restored the property to its original glory. As Castiglion del Bosco‘s most representative wine, Brunello di Montalcino is an example of the Sangiovese grape‘s perfect symbiosis with the terroir of Montalcino.

Winemaking

Comes from a careful selection of grapes from vineyards located in the Capanna area of the estate, which lie at an altitude of 350 meters facing south, with a density of 4,500-5,600 vines per hectare. The soil is characterized by the presence of clay shale and gravel-pebble, a terroir ideally suited to the production of Sangiovese. The influences of the sea are felt in this area with hot, dry summers and constant winds that remove moisture. The richness of the ”galestro“ stone in the soil gives the wine its unique aroma, complexity
and structure.
The entire vinification process is carried out in Castiglion del Bosco’s cellar, completely gravity-fed. The grapes are quality selected in the vineyards first, then the clusters travel to sorting tables where trained eyes make a further selection of the finest fruit. Fermentation is slow and natural, without the aid of added yeasts. Maceration continues beyond the end of fermentation allowing the release of noble components from the skins. Once completed, the wines are transferred to French oak in a spacious, climate-controlled cellar that is partially underground. Alcoholic fermentation lasts for 18 days at a constant temperature of 82.4°F. After malolactic fermentation, the Brunello is transferred to French oak barriques (20% new oak barrels, 80% first
and second passage barriques). Aged for 24 months in french oak barrels and 24 months in bottle before being released in the fifth year after the harvest

Winemaker Notes