Feature Coverage

Time Suspended in a Bottle

New York, NY – February 8, 2018 — “Nature is capable of creating beautiful things, you just have to wait” is a simple but emblematic phrase pronounced many years ago by Franco Biondi Santi. This statement perfectly describes the choice Biondi-Santi announces today to respect time as a central part of our production philosophy. It is in this spirit that we have decided to keep both the Brunello Riserva 2012 and the Brunello Annata 2013 in the cellar for an additional twelve months, allowing the bottles more time to refine and express their innate elegance.

Each bottle of Brunello Biondi-Santi is a journey to the heart of an extraordinary territory with an extraordinary story to tell – a story of passion, stamina and family values. A story of tradition and excellence evolving through time.

The Biondi Santi family has been blessed with a thoroughly unique terroir at Tenuta Greppo, allowing us to identify our own proprietary varietal clone, the BBS11, and to create a Sangiovese with an equally unique identity, comparable to no other wine in the world.

 During the era of Tancredi Biondi-Santi, who took over winemaking at the estate in 1922, the wines at Tenuta Greppo were aged for 48 months in oak. Examples of his winemaking talent are the legendary Riserva 1955 and 1964, which even today represent true milestones in the winery’s history. Franco, Tancredi’s son and father of Jacopo, took over at Tenuta Greppo in 1970. He reduced the oak aging to 42 months, then to 36, as he gradually came to understand that extreme longevity — the hallmark of the Brunello Biondi-Santi — is the result of finesse and balance. And, as he discovered, finesse and balance require patience in terms of refinement in the bottle. Some of the most sought-after vintages of Riserva from Franco’s time are 1975, 1983 and 2001.

Today Biondi-Santi continues its quest for excellence, granting our wines even more time to find their ideal balance before they leave the quiet sanctuary of the cellar. Every time we taste the Riserva 2012 and Annata 2013, which, according to appellation standards, could be released now, we are more convinced that this choice is beneficial not only for the wines’ evolution, but also for our customers. It is our greatest ambition that each bottle of Brunello Biondi-Santi be a remarkable, uniquely rewarding sensory experience, and this goal can be obtained only by adding time to time.

 Both 2012 and 2013 were warm and dry vintages in Montalcino, each in its own way, and the two wines, scheduled for release in 2019 respectively seven and six years after the harvest, represent two very different expressions of the Biondi-Santi terroir. 2012 displays a classic Biondi-Santi Riserva style, with austere elegance and balance between structure and acidity. It’s a gift from our old-vine, high-altitude vineyards, planted with the BBS11 clone, which thrives even in a dry and hot climate. The 2013, thanks to a few refreshing downpours in the days preceding the harvest, displays an immediate, intensely fruity profile and a full, lush body with enticingly spicy notes.

About Biondi-Santi
Biondi-Santi, founded in the 16th century close to the medieval town of Montalcino in Tuscany, is one of the most renowned wine estates in Italy. The Biondi Santi family, who heralded in the celebrated “Brunello di Montalcino” wine, has ensured the excellence of its wines for seven generations, reaping awards from leading international wine experts on numerous occasions. Jacopo Biondi Santi, sixth generation of the founding family, has been the winemaker since 2010 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tenuta Biondi Santi Spa since 2017, when EPI (a family owned, French luxury brand group including the estates Piper-Heidsieck, Charles Heidsieck, Château la Verrerie, Bonpoint e J.M. Weston) signed a strategic partnership with the Biondi Santi family. Jacopo’s son Tancredi is also a board member and is involved in production alongside his father. Olivier Adnot is the CEO of Biondi Santi Tenuta Greppo Srl and works with the family to expand the brand worldwide.

February 8, 2018
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Time Suspended in a Bottle