Regular Price $68.00, Brave New World pricing $49.99 with shipping included on 6 bottles or more

Driving into Villa Santa Restituta on a steep slope southwest of the town of Montalcino, is like driving into a 15^th century Tuscan village.  Once you’ve gotten through the giant rusty gate, you find yourself in a broad dusty compound of positively ancient buildings in various states of disrepair including a bakery, a church and, of course, this being Tuscany and all, a winery.  Sitting at one of the highest points in the entire Montalcino zone, the highest, Poggio Antico, abuts the Villa on one side and Angelo Gaja’s flagship Brunello property Pieve Santa Restituta is perched on the slope just below.  And next door is Soldera, perhaps the most iconic property in the entire region not named Biondi-Santi.  In fact, until relatively recently, Villa Santa Restituta also included vineyards that are now part of Soldera as well as its other neighbors, Caprilli  and Fattoi.  Yes, this is definitely the high rent district of Montalcino!  The property is currently run by one Federico Nannetti who took over from his trailblazing grandfather Cesare Castelli, one of the legends of Montalcino.  Young, passionate and single-minded, Federico is committed to putting Villa Santa Restituta into the same rarified air as its exalted neighbors.  He’s particularly set up for success as his higher altitude, cooler climate vineyards are perfectly suited for dealing with the warmer summers the region has been experiencing lately.  Witness the elegant and polished 2020 Castello Giulio Brunello Federico bottled, 48 bottles of which have finally come into our hands.  This is everything we look for in a traditionally-made Brunello built for climate change.  Aged 30 months in French wood, it has plenty of the oomph for which 2020 is famous but the aromatics are lifted by some really fresh acidity and the tannins and fruit are all tied together in a completely seamless, quite polished whole.  Not at all rustic, it’s a remarkably fresh, lovely bottle of Brunello that carries both the lift and gravitas of its noble terroir and a sense of immediate accessibility that belies the long future it has ahead.  The best part, I think, is the price!  Even Caprilli- the most affordable of the Villa’s neighbors- is over $80 a bottle now, so, at $50, we think this is, indeed, a very fine value.  Hey, is this the weekend you’ll be firing up the grill for a delicious Porterhouse?  We have your wine!  Again, 48 bottles only.  

James Suckling: Bright intensity to this Brunello. Red cherries and raspberries, together with plenty of toasted notes, as well as licorice, smoky woodland and mediterranean herbs. The attack is extremely elegant on the full-bodied palate, with refined, filigree tannins and refreshing, integrated acidity. Very precise, juicy and savory. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. 95 points