"Filippo Chia's Castello Romitorio is on fire. All of his wines are enjoying a well-deserved moment in the spotlight."
– Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
In 1984, the painter Sandro Chia bought Castello Romitorio, then an abandoned fortress on the northwestern side of Montalcino. Over the following years he restored the property and planted Sangiovese using local selections rather than relying solely on the more standardised material increasingly common at the time. Those early plantings still account for around half of the estate’s vineyards.
Alongside him was Franco Martini, whose family had made Brunello in Montalcino for generations and who became Romitorio’s first cellar master. Today that relationship continues through their sons, Filippo Chia and Stefano Martini, who run the estate together. Sandro’s paintings remain part of the visual language of the wines, appearing across the labels.
Romitorio’s recent vintages have brought a noticeable run of critical recognition.
Romitorio’s recent releases have been particularly well received, with several wines scoring in the high 90s. The standout is the 2016 Filo di Seta Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, awarded 100 points by Raffaele Vecchione of WinesCritic. It was the first Riserva made from the Filo di Seta vineyard, aged for 63 months and released in just 3,940 individually numbered bottles.
Alongside the five current releases, we have a rare selection of back vintages, centred on 2010 and 2016, two standout years for Brunello. Both the Brunello and Riserva are represented from each vintage, together with the 2016 Filo di Seta and 2017 Brunello.
The 2010s are now showing the savoury, developed character of mature Brunello, while the 2016s remain fresher and more structured, with plenty of evolution still ahead.
