Brunello di Montalcino 'Filo di Seta' Riserva Castello Romitorio 2016

Filo di Seta Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is the result of extended aging and rigorous selection of the best barrels from the Filo di Seta Brunello di Montalcino harvest. Aged for a total of 63 months, and therefore classified as a Riserva, the 2016 vintage is the first ever release of this rare and magnificent wine.

The wine expresses the bold yet elegant character of the wilder and darker essence of the area’s cooler north-westerly microclimate. The old vines of Sangiovese sit at an altitude of approximately 350 meters and are carefully cared for to ensure that each plant produces harmonious, balanced yields that allow the grapes to reach optimal ripeness.

Hand sorting takes place in the winery before and after destemming. Fermentation is in temperature-controlled cement tanks with 20 days of maceration on the skins, and natural malolactic fermentation lasts for about 10 days before the wine is rested to separate the lees. The wine matures in oak for approximately 36 months, and after bottling the wine is aged in Castello Romitorio’s temperature-controlled cellars until release.

A total of just 3940 bottles of the 2016 vintage were produced and each is individually numbered.

Castello Romitorio was a half renovated abandoned wreck when artist Sandro Chia purchased it in 1984. What was left of the building had been abandoned after WW2 and used only by shepherds until Baron Giorgio Franchetti, a historic building restorer, purchased it in the 1970’s. He abandoned his plan (I didn’t say he was a successful building restorer) and sold the property to Sandro who completed the work and brought the building back to life as his home and art studio. The building had been built originally in the 12th century as an imposing hilltop fortress to guard the town of Montalcino. In the late 1980’s Sandro set about restoring the land around the castle back to its former glory with an overhaul of the vineyards. New cellars were constructed in 2005 and along with Filippo, Sandro’s son, the wines have become internationally recognised as expressions of Sangiovese than flirt between the modern and classic style with extraordinary elegance.