✒ Biondi Santi’s New Releases

Let's Talk About

18 Mar

by John Stimpfig

In March, Biondi-Santi’s Technical Director Federico Radi came to London to present this legendary estate’s latest releases, including an older vintage Riserva from the estate’s library or ‘La Storica’ collection. John Stimpfig was lucky enough to be invited along to taste the stellar line up of wines.

Wine Notes:-

Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino 2022
A challenging warm, dry year that yielded a small crop. Fortunately, there was some rain in August which revived the grapes and helped with the final ripening process as the harvest began at the end of the month and finished early in September. The wine was aged in large Slavonian oak barrels for 12 months and was bottled in mid 2024. This is soft, and supple with primary cherry, cassis and plum notes. The acidity is juicy and the tannins are light and feathery on this youthful, vivacious and highly approachable wine. It is certainly drinking now and will age for another decade. But now and the next five years are its sweet spot for opening and enjoying.

(NB The 2022 is yet to be released, so the current vintage is the 2021 – also at £95.59).
100% Sangiovese
14%
Drink 2025-2035
RRP bottle price from £95.99

Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino 2019
2019 was a textbook year in southern Tuscany. A cold and rainy spring slowed the growing cycle before things warmed up significantly with hot, dry weather in June and July, punctuated by the occasional rainstorm. August saw more of the same with perfectly timed showers at the end of the month to refresh the vines and provide ideal picking conditions into the harvest which began on September 14. Federico Radi and his team have taken full advantage of these conditions to craft a stellar 2019 Brunello with careful extraction and maceration as well as vinification in a variety of vessels from oak barrels to concrete and stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 30 months prior to bottling.

The wine is bright and primary with a floral cherry aroma with a touch of herbs and balsam. It is impeccably balanced, lithe and elegant with red cherry, plum and succulent, sweet red fruits as well as savoury tobacco and bay leaf. At 13.5% alcohol this is infused with super-refined tannins together with a crystalline acidity and purity that is enchanting. Medium-bodied in structure, with a sublime tapering finish, this cries out for food. It is ready now upon release and will age with ease for another twenty years - and then some.

100% Sangiovese
13.5%
Drink 2025-2045+
RRP bottle price from £240

Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2018
In marked contrast to beneficent 2019, 2018 was not so easy, principally because it was such a cool and wet growing cycle throughout the year. With so much rain, a lot of work was required in the vineyard to manage the vigour in the canopy. Overall, temperatures for the summer were just below average while the Tramuntana wind from the north helped dry the grapes just prior to picking. Harvest began on September 16 and lasted for eight days. In order to achieve this level of quality, Federico Radi had to make a stringent selection from Biondi Santi’s oldest parcels, reducing production by 30%. So just 8,000 bottles were made.

Limpid and bright, this wine exudes sheer vinous class and a sotto voce complexity from its primary, scented-savoury nose to the fabulous finish. The graceful palate shows delicious, sweet red fruits with cherry, strawberry and raspberry alongside an initial hint of undergrowth and tobacco pouch. The oak is beautifully interwoven and remains perfectly hidden except in the supple texture and gentle tannic presence. The acidity is so cool, racy and precise here, framing the elegantly restrained mid-weight structure. This classic, complex terroir wine, magnificently crafted, will continue to shine for another three to four decades. Bravo.

100% Sangiovese
13.5%
Drink 2025-2045+
RRP bottle price from £765

Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1997 ‘La Storica’
Tasting this library wine (made by Franco Biondi-Santi) at nearly thirty years of age, it continues to exhibit a rich colour in the glass. The bouquet is clearly developed but still retains some intense primary fruit of mulberry and bramble together with sous bois and balsamic notes. The palate is deep, powerful and intense and shows more muscle, flesh and structure than many of its older and younger siblings. The dark, ripe and generous fruits mingle with liquorice, tobacco and truffle to great effect leading to a powerful savoury finish. This is drinking perfectly now and will continue to do so for a decade or more.

100% Sangiovese
14%
Drink 2025-2035
RRP bottle price from £1100