Castello Romitorio Toscana IGT

The 2022 Toscana Rosso is peppery and floral, with an airy bouquet of rose petals, dusty earth and blackberry nuances. This is cool-toned and sleek, with racy black and blue fruits alongside sweet lavender. The long and wonderfully fresh finish leaves sour citrus, clove and a pleasantly bitter tinge.

This is a blockbuster 50–50 blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot vinified in stainless steel tanks and concrete. The grapes for Castello Romitorio’s 2022 Romitorio come from the Scansano area but are processed at the Montalcino winery, making for a creative Bordeaux-meets-Rhône experiment set in Tuscany. The wine shows vinous richness with layers of black fruit and a smoky nuance that recalls the wild hills of the Maremma, while notes of cracked white pepper, garrigue and juniper berry lend a distinctly aromatic profile. First produced in 2008, this bottling delivers racy freshness alongside lingering tannins, with a production of 37,000 bottles.