Biondi-Santi - Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1955 (750ml)
Price: $2530.00
| Producer | Biondi-Santi |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Subregion | Montalcino |
| Varietal | Sangiovese Grosso |
| Vintage | 1955 |
| Sku | 2948 |
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Biondi-Santi Description
The prestige of Brunello del Greppo dates back to the 19th Century with the story of Clemente Santi who began making wine using 100% Sangiovese. He passed on his wine knowledge to his nephew Ferruccio Biondi Santi, who, after the phyloxera in the second half of the 1800s, isolated a clone of Sangiovese that gave birth to wines of extraordinary longevity. In 1888, Ferruccio produced the first bottle of Brunello di Montalcino from this clone.
The entire estate includes 47 hectares of land, but only 25 hectares are dedicated to plantings of Sangiovese Grosso. The oldest vines, totaling 5 hectares, date from 1930-1970. Only the best grapes are destined to the production of Biondi Santi Brunello - those from vineyards at least ten years old are for the Annata, and those at least twenty-five years old for the Riserva. Marl soils with heavy stones have been always preferred by the family with southern, southeastern, eastern, northeastern and northern exposure. The yield per hectare is kept low at 3-5 tons per hectare. Current production rarely exceeds 80,000 bottles, including about 10,000 bottles of Riserva made only during exceptional harvests.
Franco Biondi Santi, oenologist, learned the subtle art of vinification from his father, and has continued to run the Greppo Estate, with its unequalled collection of Reserve bottles. He has increased the production of Brunello del Greppo from the 4 hectares cultivated until his father’s death, to the current 25.
The future continuity of Greppo is represented by Franco’s two children: Jacopo, with his vivid imagination in relation to wines (firmly convinced of the typical character of Brunello del Greppo), and Alessandra (involved in promoting the estate).
Wine Spectator: 99 Points
An intense bouquet of tar, dried porcini and mineral gives way to a powerful yet elegant red. Licorice, dried cherry, iron and spice notes fuse together on the palate, culminating in incredible length on the finish. Magnificent, this a Brunello of legendary stature.
Vinous: 95 Points
...haunting in its beauty. The tannins have now fully softened while the acidity has been tamed with age. What comes through is a sweet, perfumed, Burgundian-inflected Sangiovese. Crushed flowers, sweet tobacco, mint, dried herbs and licorice are laced into the finish. The 1955 is a wine of extraordinary purity. Naturally at 60 years of age an after two reconditionings, there is likely to be some degree of bottle variation, but the 1955 remains unforgettable.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
This is the second time I have been before Biondi-Santi's historic 1955 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. I remember feeling the floor quiver under my feet the first time I tasted this wine about ten years ago. This second tasting was decisively less earth-shattering. Although I had sourced the bottle directly from the historic cellars at Il Greppo, and the utmost care was given to the wine in terms of transportation and service, this bottle was less vibrant and expressive than the previous sample etched in my memory. The wine shows a browning garnet color that is luminous and translucent. The bouquet is ethereal and fluid with delicate tones of dried fruit, licorice, tar, mint and dried cigar tobacco. The mouthfeel is enormously long and silky. This Riserva shows all the hallmark elements of pedigree Biondi-Santi, but the overall intensity was a notch or two lower than I expected. Bottle variation is a big concern with a wine that has existed for some sixty years. This bottle was reconditioned twice in the past. It is impossible to assign a drinking window to a wine like this. I indicated ten years, but the wine should hold longer, depending on the bottle and whether or not it sees another re-corking and reconditioning soon. Jacopo Biondi Santi indicated that it would.
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