“This 2018 Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino shows plenty of sophisticated and subtle oak with coffee, spice, cedar, and cream notes on the nose. On the palate it is a very firm, robust style with chewy tannins that linger on the finish. There is medium concentration in the middle of red cherry and tart cherry fruit. It is quite an assertive style, but it feels a little less concentrated in the middle than usual, but it is still very well put together. This estate in the northern part of the Montalcino DOCG is the passionate project of one of Italy’s famous fashion designers Massimo Ferragamo and a luxury hotel is part of the property.”

“The Campo del Drago vineyard is the very highest in elevation in the Capanna area and is the top bottling from Castiglion del Bosco, hailing from their coolest vineyard site. The 2018 vintage of Campo del Drago is already beautifully refined on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet wafting from the glass in a mix of red and black cherries, plums, cigar wrapper, gamebird, fresh oregano, a beautifully complex base of soil, a touch of lavender and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with an outstanding core of fruit, excellent mineral drive and grip, ripe tannins and lovely focus and nascent complexity on the long, impeccably balanced and very refined finish. This is even more elegant in profile than the regular Brunello from Castiglione del Bosco, but it is also a bit more structured and will need a few more years in the cellar before it starts to soften up and drink with true generosity. An excellent wine. 2035-2085.”

“The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino from Castiglion del Bosco is an excellent young wine. The Sangiovese Grosso for this bottling is grown in the Capanna Vineyard, which sits at one of the higher elevations in Brunello and helps to mitigate some of the summer heat of our era of global warming. The wine offers up a lovely nose of cherries, a touch of blood orange, cigar wrapper, a lovely base of soil tones, brown spices, just a hint of fresh oregano and a deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent in profile, with a lovely core of red fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and fine length and grip on the poised, balanced and complex finish. This is a very fine, young bottle of classy Brunello; it will require plenty of cellaring before its tannins have softened up, but it is going to have a long and rewarding plateau of drinkability once it has blossomed. Beautifully old school in style! 2033- 2085.”

“Fascinating nose of pungent mushroom, almost truffly notes, together with ripe red berries and a twist of more exotic dates. Full-bodied with an excellent balance of ripe fruit, velvety but not chewy tannins and a long, tasty finish. You want to drink this now, but it will continue to improve with age. Best from 2024.”

“A dusty blend of cedary spice, mentholated herbs, rose petals and sour cherry wafts up from the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino. It’s round and supple in feel, with floral-laced red and black fruits complemented by a subtle tinge of sweet spice. This leaves a bitter twang of sour berries, while a burst of residual acidity adds a cheek-puckering freshness, and a gentle tug of tannin slowly recedes. The 2018 has improved each time I’ve tasted it in the last five months, and it now shows the ruggedness of Northwestern Montalcino Sangiovese, but in a wonderfully balanced way.”