Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva:
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Biondi-Santi’s outstanding Brunellos are best-known for their incredible ability to age. Even a 100-year-old Brunello di Montalcino from Biondi-Santi shows remarkably well.
Established in 1880, Biondi-Santi was a winery destined for greatness. While it was founder Clemente Biondi-Santi who launched his family's name in the wine business, it wasn't until the late-19th century, with Ferruccio, that the estate at "Greppo" made its mark in viticulture history. It was then, in the renowned hills of Montalcino that Ferruccio took a clone of the Sangiovese grape, known as Sangiovese Grosso, and produced the first ever Brunello. Ferruccio's son Tancredi made the wine famous, officially classifying it as Brunello. Within a decade Biondi-Santi was receiving praise from wine-lovers everywhere. This new classification of Tuscan wine forever changed the Italian role in the industry. Today, it is Tancredi's son Franco Biondi-Santi who runs the estate, producing nearly 70,000 bottles a year.
Less than 700 cases of the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva are made in choice years, with only a small percentage making it to the States. The Riserva is made from older vines, between 25 to 80 years of age, while the Annata is derived from vines between the ages of 10 to 15 years. Grapes for both wines are sourced primarily from the Greppo plot, which consists of stony galestro soil with tufaceous clay. However, it is the 400 to 500 meters of altitude that lends to the characteristic aromatics and acidity of these wines. The grapes undergo fermentation in traditional Slavonian oak for 18 days, and the juice is moved to large oak casks of 800 to 7,000 liters to age for two to three years. The Riserva is released in the sixth year after harvest. Franco insists that this wine age and recommends that the wine breathe for eight to 16 hours prior to serving.
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Wine: Brunello di Montalcino Producer: Biondi-Santi
Varietal(s): Sangiovese Grosso
Region: Toscana
Province: Siena
Commune: Montalcino
Vineyard(s): Greppo, Pievecchia, Pieri, Buonconsiglio, Greppino
Altitude: 480+ meters
Classification: Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
First Year: 1888
Bottle Production: 8,000-10,000 in choice years
More Landmark Wines:
Soldera Brunello Riserva
Il Poggione Brunello
Poggio Antico Brunello
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