2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

I was extremely impressed by every course at the Dysart. This is Michelin-approved fine dining, as it ought to be. The expertise of the Chef and his team shone through in practically every dish to such a degree that only distance from central London can explain why this restaurant is not more lauded.

Biondi-Santi continues on its path of refinement while paying close attention to respecting the traditions of Montalcino’s most famous family. With the release of the 2017 Rosso di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo, we are now seeing the first wine that the new owners have had full control over from start to finish. The changes are subtle, including the use of a sorting table (which was done by hand in the vineyard previously) and the addition of fruit from beyond the lower-elevation vineyards. The goal is to improve the quality of the Rosso, a wine that already demands a high tariff for its category, in order to bring a new generation of wine drinkers to the brand. Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of Biondi-Santi, explained that they see the wine less as a Rosso and more as a second wine to the Brunello Annata. Having the ability to taste the 2017 and 2016 vintages close to one another was insightful, but it spoke less of any stylistic changes and more of the completely different nature of these two vintages. In both cases, the Rosso underwent twelve months of refinement in large Slavonian oak and one year in bottle prior to release. As for the 2015 Brunello, it’s a bit of a departure from the expectations of Biondi-Santi requiring over a decade of cellaring to enter its drinking window. That said, it’s a stunning and lively example of this ripe vintage. The only changes made here was to use more of a parcel-by-parcel and barrel-by-barrel approach to creating the wine. In the past, the Brunello was rotated through the different barrels in the cellar at least twice a year throughout its three years of maturation; while today, the barrels are blended only prior to bottling. What’s more, there will be a 2015 Riserva released in 2022.

There is a great deal of news coming out of Montalcino’s oldest, most storied estate. In fact, ever since the sale of Biondi-Santi to the EPI group in 2016, the estate has been slowly undergoing changes, with an important focus on the study of their individual vineyard plots. World famous terroir expert Pedro Parra has been brought on as a consultant and among other things, he has proceeded to burrow 33 holes on the estate property to help analyze the characteristics of the property’s various soil types. Based on the results and his indications, twelve specific plots will now be followed closely over the course of the next few years with microvinifications carried out from each one. Clearly, the goal is to gain in precision thanks to the information gathered on each plot and potential wine. The estate has also added small oak 10 and 15Hl barrels (from Garbellotto, the historic Italian barrel supplier) and cement tanks to their vinification and aging arsenal. Also, the estate is planning to uproot part of the older vines that are virus-affected and are no longer producing the quality or volume of grapes they would like (however, they have kept all the extremely old vines planted in the 1930s near the estate). Biondi-Santi has also bought 6.6 hectares of Sangiovese vines designated for Brunello production, an amphitheater in the southeastern sector of Montalcino not far removed from the estate (the vines grow at the same height as at Il Greppo and are south east facing). CEO Giampiero Bertolini told me that in order to decide where to buy, they evaluated sites at 23 different estates (twelve of which he went to see personally). And so Biondi-Santi owns 33 hectares of vineyards today (only of which a little less than 2 hectares are of Rosso di Montalcino-only designated vines). In this light, it is not without interest that Biondi-Santi is thinking of making a little more Rosso every year, given that there is apparently a huge request for the wine and they don’t really make that much currently (only 20,000 bottles/year of Rosso versus 60,000 of the classic Brunello and 15,000 of the Brunello Riserva). And in keeping pace with modern times, the estate has also been working on distribution and labeling; for example the word “Riserva” now appears on the front label, beginning with the 2012 Riserva just released this year (the word “Riserva” was previously only found on the neck label). Last but not least, the estate has also begun bottling magnums (believe it or not, Biondi-Santi had never done so before; in the 2012 vintage, 500 were made as an initial celebratory launch, but in the future, more will be produced). Now that may seem like a lot of changes all at once, but Bertolini underscores everything is being done slowly and carefully, or in his words “… evolution without revolution”.