Castello Romitorio "Romitorio" Rosso Toscana IGT 2021

This powerful, full-bodied red has the vibrancy and savoriness that Italian wines are famous for. The "Romitorio" is a "Super Tuscan" blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot, French varieties that have found a welcome home in the Mediterranean hills of Tuscany's Maremma coast. There's no oak here, just the character of that suavely-textured, floral- and mineral-tinged dark fruit imbued with brilliant inner energy. On the palate, ample fruit and freshness -- Marasca cherry meets ripe plum in a gutsy, full-bodied package. The tannins are bold but countered by so much fruit that they attain an almost mocha vanilla sweetness and come across smooth on the dense, full body. The finish is warming and rounded, a mouthful of big, fruity exuberance that keeps its mojo for quite a number of years.

The Romitorio estate's castello, a medieval-era outpost, lies on an isolated hill off to the west of Montalcino, though this rosso comes from vineyards closer to the Mediterranean. Their wines are sleek, stylish, robust and more open-knit than the classical Italian style. They're modern artistic expressions for founder Sandro Chia, a painter and sculptor whose bold works adorn the labels. He settled on this far-flung part of Tuscany because of the wild, natural character of these ancient, bucolic hills seemed destined for rebirth. That potential did not lay fallow, as Sandro's son, Filippo Chia, has continued to hone the style and quality for which Castello Romitorio is now known! Appropriately for this wild landscape, they practice sustainable & organic farming.