Berry Bros – 2015 Brunello di Montalcino, Simply Stunning Eric Guido
I’m very pleased to offer you the new releases from Montalcino legend, Biondi-Santi, the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino and the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva.
Biondi Santi are one of the great properties of Montalcino. Clemente Santi, was the first member of the family to create red wines suitable for ageing and his oenological techniques learnt through agriculture, chemistry and science were far more advanced than his peers. This knowledge was passed on to his nephew Ferruccio Biondi Santi, who skilfully continued to run the estate, keeping production running after the First World War. In 1932 he was described as ‘the inventor of Brunello’.
The estate was passed down through the family until Jacopo, who took over the estate after the passing away of his father Franco in 2013, sold a majority of its shares to Christopher Descours, the owner of Charles Heidsieck, Piper-Heidsieck, Rare Champagne and Château la Verrerie, in December 2016. While the 6th and 7th generations of the Biondi-Santi family, Jacopo and his son Tancredi, remain actively involved in the running of the estate, the investment being undertaken by Christopher Descours will ensure the property modernises in an intelligent manner.
The estate has 26 hectares of vineyard split over three sites. Il Greppo, at 500 metres above sea level, is where the winery and house is situated and where the oldest plot, planted in 1936, is to be found. They also have vines down the hill to the east of Montalcino and to the north, close to Montosoli. The oldest vineyards, those over 25 years of age, are the source of grapes for the Riserva, the 10 to 25-year-old vineyards are used for the Brunello.
While the Brunello di Montalcino is fermented in concrete tanks, the Riserva is made in oak ‘tini’ (large conical wooden vats). Both wines are aged for 36 months in large Slavonian oak casks prior to bottling.
Biondi-Santi decided not to bottle any 2014 Brunello di Montalcino, so the 2015 vintage is the first release since the 2013.
This is a terrific pair of wines with the 2015 Brunello getting great reviews from the critics and our taster alike, with Monica Larner of The Wine Advocate stating that it’s a “profound wine” and awarding it 97+/100 points, while Eric Guido of Vinous writes that the wine is “Simply Stunning!”.
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, entirely from fruit from the great Il Greppo vineyard and vines over 25 years old, is yet to be reviewed by the critics, but it is sure to be well received, as the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino (Annata) played to rave reviews when it was released in 2019.
Looking back at previous great vintages, the 2006 Brunello (94 points Vinous and Wine Advocate) is now selling for around £1000 per case of 6 in bond, while older vintages are hard to come by.
2015 Brunello di Montalcino, Biondi-Santi
£705 per case of 6 bottles in bond
“A beautiful nose of red and black cherries, summer herbs and a certain meatiness is both deep and rich. Powerful and fine on the palate, mouth-filling and rich with spicy, profound dark fruit, savoury, full-bodied with great acidity and a fine grip of tannins on the long finish. Still a baby at present, but very impressive, this has a very long life ahead of it. Drink 2023-2045+.”
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
“The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino exudes dark, velvety fruit and concentration while maintaining the signature elegance, suppleness and lithe personalty that distinguishes the iconic Il Greppo estate. I found this new release to be quite distinctive and exquisitely beautiful, setting it apart from many of the past vintages we are most familiar with. This 2015 edition is dark, exuberant and bold, but precise, focused and sharp as well. It will live for years in your cellar, but tasted now in its infancy, the wine shows blackberry, dried cherry, plum and dark cassis. Those dark fruit tones segue to a rich presentation of tar, spice, earth, tobacco and sweet balsam herb. The bouquet offers seamless and smooth transitions. This warm and sunny growing season favored richness and phenolic weight. Wines from Biondi-Santi are made for the long haul, and the fresh acidity that characterizes this estate is the principle reason why. However, I’d argue that this wine from 2015 will evolve over the years not only thanks to the freshness but more so thanks to the important structure of this solid and profound wine. Drink 2024-2048.”
97+/100 points – Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, February 2021
“The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Annata is an understated beauty that takes some time to blossom in the glass. It’s a sweetly spiced and floral expression of the vintage, blending ripe cherries and strawberries with dusty earth, hints of sage and violets. A refreshing air of mint and lavender develops over time. It’s elegance personified on the palate, seamless and silky-smooth, with a classic and pure expression of red fruits and saline-minerals, as fine tannins slowly mount toward the close. Hints of licorice, white pepper and savory herbs linger through the lightly structured finale. While youthfully firm, the 2015 is already so enjoyable today, yet a few years of cellaring will reveal even further depths. I tasted the 2015 tasted multiple times over the course of a day and it only got better with air. Simply stunning! Drink 2024-2034.”
95/100 points – Eric Guido, Vinous, November 2020
“This is so transparent and beautiful with clarity. Cherry, plum, strawberry, and berry character with some stone and orange. It’s full-bodied and very linear and round with balance and refinement. The tannins are fine and very powdery in texture. Excellent depth. Ripe, yet so energetic. Fresh, vivid and round. Drink or hold.”
97/100 points – James Suckling, February 2021
“Transparent ruby – a very Sangiovese hue! Lifted, reticent nose and then the really rather glorious fruit, with the tang of Sangiovese but with a suggestion of butter toffee, spreads right across the palate. Very contained and handsome. Good energy and already rather accessible though students of the estate will presumably be confident of the wine’s ageing ability. Drink 2021-2032.”
17/20 points, Jancis Robinson MW, March 2021
2013 Brunello di Montalcino, Riserva, Biondi-Santi
£1110 per case of 3 bottles in bond
£895 per single magnum in bond (very limited availability)
“Lifted, red, herby, toasty fruit on the nose, almost tar-like qualities too, very deep and intriguing, very Biondi-Santi. Focussed and fine on the palate, ethereal, elegant and linear, lifted, herby, rich, red fruit, bloody and full of energy. Great acidity and incredibly fine tannins bring it all into focus. This is a delicious, elegant riserva which will age for decades. Drink 2022-2050+.”
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
Please let me know if I can tempt you to a case of either, or both, of these Montalcino gems.
Kind regards
Ian O’Kane
Fine Wine Sales (Ireland)
Berry Bros. & Rudd
28-32 Pembroke Street, Dublin 2
T: +353 1906 5326
M: +353 (0)86 601 4722
www.bbr.com
