WINERY It is a rare phenomenon that a wine can trace its origins to a single man. Brunello di Montalcino, however, owes its existence to Ferruccio Biondi Santi who in 1888 invented Brunello. Later generations of this enlightened family include such talented winemakers as Tancredi and Franco Biondi Santi. Today Biondi-Santi continues to produce wines renowned for their elegance and extraordinary longevity. Located just south-east of Montalcino, the winery spreads over 32 hectares of vineyards on soils rich in galestro rock and marl, which is perfect for the cultivation of Sangiovese Grosso. Defenders of a rich enological heritage, Biondi-Santi continues to employ a natural viticulture and traditional vinicultural methods to highlight the wine’s unique characteristics, or tipicità.

WINE Produced for the first time in 1888, the Biondi-Santi Riserva was the first Brunello di Montalcino in history, and even today it is an extraordinary event when a new vintage of Riserva is announced at Tenuta Greppo, the Biondi-Santi main estate. Renowned for its extraordinary longevity, this rare wine has been released only 42 times from 1888 till today and each production is extremely limited. Riserva is traditionally produced with grapes coming from only the ùoldest vineyards, of more than 25 years of age.

An ideal year weather-wise: A cold, rainy winter gave way to a temperate spring with moderate rainfall. June and July were dry and warm, as was August, which experienced three well-spaced rainfalls that helped the vines withstand the summer drought. September was warm and dry.

The 1997 Riserva was vinified in vertical Slavonian oak barrels by using indigenous yeasts. It was aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 3 years, and benefited from a long refinement in the bottle in the quiet and darkness of “La Storica”, the bottle library at Tenuta Greppo where all the historic vintages of Biondi-Santi Riserva are scrupulously kept.

Bright, intense ruby red with mahogany hues, the 1997 Riserva is ample and fleshy, seductive and inviting with notes of candied cherry glaze and scents of flowering vines, tar and flint, with underlying nuances of molasses-flavored pipe tobacco. The taste is sensuous and rich with notes of aromatic wood and spices which lend an original touch to the finish. The tannins envelop the palate perfectly and counterbalance the elegant acidity, leading towards a long lingering, surprisingly fresh aftertaste.