Castello Romitorio
Background
Perched on the highest hill in the rugged Northwest corner of Montalcino, Castello di Romitorio stands like a guardian over the Brunello DOCG zone. One of the most famous living artists, Sandro Chia, acquired the property in 1984. The purchase included the Castello Romitorio farm which was re-deditcated to the production of Montalcino DOCs. Today Sandro’s son Filippo Chia is the owner and winemaker of the estate. Sandro Chia, a renowned painter and sculptor continues to design all the labels and is still an active artist. The Romitorio vineyards are small plots of land amongst hectares of virgin woods, interspersed with ponds and streams of crystal clear water. They surround the Castle on a hill that, coming down from Monte Amiato towards Siena, runs parallel with the Montalcino slopes. A completely unspoiled landscape with fossil rich galestro, clay, and albarese soil.
Wine Cellar
Filippo and Otto
The wines produced here are rich in minerality and purity of fruit, with unequaled elegance and refinement. The Romitorio landscape is a wild and diverse area of Montalcino characterized dotted with slopes that received less sun and where average temperatures are colder than the rest of the appellation. As the desire for heavy, concentrated wines has receded and demand for lower alcohol, balanced wines with elegance and grace has emerged, these mature high altitude vineyards are able to produce some of the most exceptional wines of the entire region. Castello Romitorio uses a delicate combination of large barrels and French oak for long, patient aging where the wood is never the star, but a supporting actor in the evolution of the wine. Aging in barrels is followed by the necessary rest in the bottle, which far exceeds the minimum time as dictated by the DOCG regulations.
About the Wine
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO Riserva DOCG
Only a truly extraordinary harvest can produce the Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva D.O.C.G.: Since it’s establishment in 1984 Romitorio has released only a handful of vintages of this wine.
A rigorous selection of grapes is made from the estate’s eldest vineyards located in the Northern zone of Montalcino. Each vineyard block is monitored throughout the vegetative process, blocks are chosen and each cluster is carefully tended in order to ensure that the fruit reaches a consistent and optimal ripeness.
FILO DI SETA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG
Filo di Seta is a unique Brunello that is the result of a rigorous selection of grapes harvested by hand in A vineyard near Castello Romitorio. It is a Brunello di Montalcino that seeks to express the wilder and darker essence of the area’s cooler Northwesterly microclimate. Filo di Seta, which translates as Silk Thread, is the name of a creek that flows through the forest nearby.
The vines are located at an altitude of approximately 350 meters, with Northwesterly exposure, and are carefully cared for to ensure that each plant produces the lowest yields and reaches optimal ripeness.
ROSSO DI MONTALCINO DOC
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. 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.
OTHER PROJECTS
GHIACCIO FORTE
Castello Romitorio’s second estate is Ghiaccio Forte, acquired in 1999 and situated in Scansano, Grosseto. The estate takes its name from the ancient Etruscan settlement of Ghiaccio Forte, the ruins of which are located a short distance from the winery. The Scansano area, with its bare hills and unspoiled nature, stands about 150 meters above sea level; only 25 kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea. Altitude, a southwesterly exposure, and volcanic soil create a unique microclimate that produces refined, elegant wines.
CHIANTI COLLI SENESI DOCG
Chianti Colli Senesi is an illustrious example of the classic Tuscan winemaking tradition. It is a Sangiovese of distinct character, which expresses the elegance of grapes cultivated in the hills around Siena. Since the time of Antiquity, this area has been known as capable of producing extremely high quality red wines of near Burgundian elegance. The rolling Colli Senesi (hills of Siena) are noted for their rivers and thick oak forests, and are a patchwork of small medieval towns, fields, vineyards and olive groves. The Chianti Colli Senesi appellation covers a vast area of cool-climate southern Tuscany, which has remained surprisingly pristine for centuries.
MORELLINO DI SCANSANO
Ghiaccio Forte is one of the finest expressions of red wine from the Maremma. It is a powerful and silky blend of Sangiovese and Syrah from the gentle sloping hills of Scansano. The vines are tended by hand using only sustainable methods, and also carefully picked by hand at the point of optimal ripeness