Marchesi Antinori, Castello della Sala 'Bramito del Cervo', 2025
Marchesi Antinori, Castello della Sala 'Bramito del Cervo', 2025
- 75cl
- 12.5%
- White Still
- Grechetto, Chardonnay
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2029
Est. delivery end of October, 2026
Bramito del Cervo, the 'bellow of the stag', is Antinori's calling card white from Castello della Sala, their Umbrian outpost tucked into the hills above Orvieto. It's a blend built around Grechetto, Umbria's own grape, bolstered by Chardonnay for a bit of width and polish, and it's been a reliable benchmark for modern Italian white wine since the estate first bottled it in the 1980s.
This is a wine that wears its freshness proudly: crunchy green apple and citrus, a whisper of white flowers, and a mineral edge that keeps things taut rather than soft. No oak theatrics here, just clean winemaking that lets the fruit and the cool Umbrian nights do the talking.
This is a wine to drink young and unworried, its charm lies in the fresh fruit and zippy acidity of the first couple of years after release.
What the critics say:
Tasting Notes
AppearancePale straw yellow with a greenish glint.
NoseGreen apple, lemon pith, and white peach, with a light floral lift of acacia blossom.
PalateCrisp and medium-bodied, with juicy citrus and orchard fruit carried by bright, zesty acidity.
FinishClean, mineral, and refreshingly short rather than lingering.
Overall impressionAn honest, energetic white built for easy pleasure rather than contemplation.
Food Pairings
In Umbria this would happily sit alongside a plate of strangozzi with black truffle shavings, or simple grilled river trout from the nearby Tiber. Locals might pour it with torta al testo filled with prosciutto and pecorino, the wine's acidity cutting through the richness. It's equally at home with a bowl of fresh umbrichelli pasta in a light tomato sauce, or simply on its own on a warm terrace before dinner even starts.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve cold, around 10-12°C, straight from the fridge. No decanting required, this is a wine that wants immediacy rather than air. A simple white wine glass with a slightly tapered rim does the job nicely, no need for anything fancy.
The vineyards around Castello della Sala sit at 250-400 metres on a patchwork of clay, sand, and volcanic soils left behind by ancient lake beds, giving the wines both freshness and a mineral grip. Days are warm but nights cool quickly thanks to the altitude and proximity to Lake Corbara, preserving the acidity that makes this wine feel so lively. It's a cooler, gentler counterpoint to the heat of central Tuscany.
This wine is bottled simply as Umbria IGT, a classification that gives Antinori the freedom to blend Grechetto with international varieties like Chardonnay without the constraints of a stricter DOC. It sits alongside Orvieto DOC geographically but takes a more modern, varietal approach rather than the traditional Orvieto blend. The IGT designation has become something of a badge of quality in Umbria, home to some of the region's most ambitious white wine projects.
We'll be honest: 2025 in Umbria is still a young vintage, and anyone claiming definitive answers this early is probably guessing. What we can say is that Sagrantino and Sangiovese growers across Montefalco and the Orvieto hills were reporting a growing season with real heat through the summer months, the kind that tends to push ripening forward and concentrate flavour in the skins if the vines have the old roots and the altitude to cope. Umbria's patchwork of hillside sites, many at genuine elevation, has a habit of turning potentially punishing summers into something more interesting than the headline temperatures suggest, and the growers we trust there tend to pick on nerve and instinct rather than a calendar date.
Early indications point to a vintage of real intensity for Sagrantino, a grape that rarely does things by halves anyway, with tannins that will need time in bottle to settle and soften. Grechetto and Trebbiano-based whites, picked earlier, should show the brighter, more immediate side of the year. This is not a vintage we'd rush to open the reds from in their first few years; give the Montefalco wines until at least 2030, and the best Sagrantino Passito and riserva bottlings considerably longer. The whites are built for drinking now, while they still have their lift.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Crisp and fresh, with green apple, citrus, and a touch of white blossom, finishing clean and mineral.
When should I drink this wine?
Now through 2029, this is a wine for early, easy drinking rather than long cellaring.
What food should I pair it with?
Try it with truffle pasta, grilled fish, or simple Umbrian cold cuts and cheese.
How should I serve it?
Chilled to around 10-12°C, in a standard white wine glass, with no decanting needed.
What grapes are in this wine?
A blend of Grechetto, Umbria's signature white grape, with Chardonnay adding width and polish.
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