95pts James Suckling

Very aromatic and beautiful with blackberry and black-cherry aromas. Hints of flowers. Medium-bodied and extremely refined. Bright and elegant.

92pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

In the pale cream-colored label, the Frescobaldi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino CastelGiocondo is richly textured and packed with dark fruit, black cherry and dried blackberry. The wine shows good concentration—probably a little more than your standard Brunello—with integrated tannins and balanced acidity. The finish is moderate in length, and this wine is ready to drink straight out of the gate.

92pts Decanter

Plums, hoisin sauce, a soy touch, savoury nuances on the nose with ripe red berries, dark chocolate, coffee and toasted hazelnuts. Punchy and forward, this has a lovely sense of life and liveliness to it with cool blue fruit touches, wet stone nuances and some bitter chocolate edges. Sleek and silky, smooth with lovely purity. Friendly and appealing on the palate with a lifted finish and overall sense of joy. Easy drinking for sure still with bite and edges giving the complexity and interest. I love the tannins - so well integrated but so present - they really give the wine its shape and leave the lasting impression on the finish giving the definition.

92pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino CastelGiocondo is initially generous with aromas of dark fruit and spice, with notes of black cherry, smoke, cedar, and scorched earth. It is medium to full-bodied, with fresh blackberry, turned soil, and dried herbs, and its structure continues past its fruit, which is fresh and has a pretty arch, with dusty tannins and mineral texture gripping the palate. Drink this sturdy, solid effort 2024-2030.

92pts Wine Spectator

Elegant, with a vibrant structure shoring up cherry, raspberry, plum, earth and underbrush flavors. Turns compact on the finish, yet bright acidity and vestiges of the fruit keep this focused. Best from 2025 through 2040.

92pts Wine Enthusiast

The nose oscillates between sweet, warm aromas of vanilla, chocolate, baking spices and Luxardo cherries and then savory notes of graphite, gunpowder and leather. The palate indulges in the cherries and chocolate, giving a luxurious mouthfeel even as tannins are still wound tightly.

Winemaker Notes

The 2018 CastelGiocondo is an intense shade of ruby red. Always set apart by its elegance, this characteristic is more marked than ever in this vintage. The fruity notes, the first to hit your olfactory receptors, are dominated by blueberry and blackberry, flanked by blackcurrant and other berries. They are followed by floral hints of violet and dog rose, which are always found in the bouquets of the best Brunello di Montalcino. Next on the nose are clear spicy notes of black pepper and cardamom, chased by a pleasant aroma of licorice. On the palate, the tannins are dense but not harsh, accompanied by delicate mineral notes. The consistency between the nose and palate and the long and persistent finish make it particularly balanced.