2018 Castello Romitorio Romitòro Toscana IGT Tuscany

Grandma’s succulent Amatriciana recipe didn’t stand a chance. When we sipped the 2018 Romitorò at Castello Romitorio, we could tell everyone at the dinner table shared an overwhelming feeling that we’d just stumbled onto a masterpiece. 

Our day at Castello Romitorio had been all Tuscan hillside and era-defining artwork, then suddenly WHOA—we were surrounded by beauty of a different sort: not just the mouth-watering pasta, but the bold, jaw-dropping upstart blend from the land of Brunello that had us claiming an allocation before we’d finished our first glass.  

This supple and textured red has all the bells and whistles, an elusive and iconoclastic “Super Tuscan” that literally stopped our conversation in its tracks. Yes, it’s got rich aromas of black cherries and raspberries as well as the allure and intrigue of a top-shelf Brunello. But the blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot makes it richer and fuller—and the price of $26 a bottle puts it in another class altogether: the bargain category. 

We’re not the only ones raving: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate awarded Romitorò 93+ points, praising its “thick and succulent texture” and concluding with this glowing, unqualified statement: “Romitòro is one of the great value wines to emerge from Tuscany.” 

Wine Enthusiast’s 2007 Winemaker of the Year Carlo Ferrini consults for Romitorio, and the Sangiovese master proves his mettle with this iconoclastic blend from the property belonging to Sandro Chia, one of the most prolific artists of our time. Made famous by leading a group of Italian painters at the forefront of a post-avant-garde (Trandavantgarde) movement in the 1970s and 1980s, Chia is, like his idol Leonardo DaVinci, inspired by an eclectic array of art, and he chose the vineyards at Romitorio when he decided to tackle wine as his newest medium. 

Even the ancient Romans (history’s original wine snobs) who built the castle on the steep hillside saw viticultural magic when they started grape cultivation on the soils of pure white clay. The soils are nutrient-deficient, which forces the vines to struggle and put their muscle into complex and concentrated berries, but deep enough to allow the vines to dig for water in the hot Tuscan summers. The precise Chia family only practices manual harvest and sorting before maturing the wine in oak for a year, which gives this red its irresistible spice notes on the palate.

When we drove up the massive peaks over the Mediterranean landscape, we understood how the secluded castle earned its name: Romito means “hermit” in the local dialect, and the castle is isolated high on the northwestern hills of Montalcino. Chia constructed the cellar as a living workshop adjacent to the hilltop castle in the 1980s, and with its modern paintings mixed with Roman artifacts, it’s a multimedia tribute to wine. Of course, each of the labels was designed by Sandro himself, so you not only get a stunner of an iconoclastic wine, but a piece of art by an icon.

The 2018 Castello Romitorio Romitòro is an under-$30 sensation that could only be crafted by a family that built their life work on defining beauty and expression. As Sandro Chia proclaims, “[Wine] exists in mythology like oil painting—primordial elements, good companions for man, in the sense of humanity.” 

Don’t miss out on this work of art.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2028
• % Sangiovese
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork