Biondi Santi – A Brief Overview
The Biondi-Santi winery in Tuscany is inextricably linked to the history of Brunello di Montalcino – it is regarded as its inventor and birthplace. The estate’s roots date back to 1840, when Clemente Santi founded the Tenuta Il Greppo, some two kilometres south of Montalcino . On the estate, named after the steep slopes, Clemente – a man of letters and a large landowner – recognised the potential for dry red wines and began selecting the local Sangiovese grapes. This early commitment was rewarded as early as 1867 with a major award at the World Exhibition in Paris.
However, it was Clemente’s grandson, Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, whoset the decisive milestone. He isolated a specific Sangiovese variety, which became known as ‘Brunello’ due to its brownish colour, and in 1888 used it to create the first wine made from 100 per cent of this grape variety – without the addition of white grapes, as was customary at the time. This vintage is regarded as the birth of Brunello di Montalcino. Ferruccio’s son, Tancredi, further shaped the appellation by introducing strict rules governing the long period of barrel and bottle ageing before a wine was permitted to be released onto the market.
To this day, the heart of the estate remains Tenuta Greppo. The estate covers between 32 and 47 hectares , of which around 26 are planted with Sangiovese vines. The vineyards are situated at altitudes ranging from 350 to 570 metres. The wines are matured in the traditional manner in large Slavonian oak barrels, which lends them their remarkable elegance and longevity.
The pinnacle of winemaking is the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. It is made exclusively from grapes grown on the oldest vines (over 25 years old, some up to 80 years old) and is produced only in exceptional vintages. Since the first Riserva vintage in 1888, this iconic wine has been bottled just 40 times. The matured bottles are stored in the estate’s own ‘Storica’ cellar at a constant temperature and are only affixed with their original vintage label when ready for sale.
Following the death of Franco Biondi-Santi in 2013 and the takeover by the French Descours family in 2017, the estate is now managed by CEO Giampiero Bertolini and Technical Director Federico Radi. Under the guiding principle of ‘Evolution rather than revolution’, Biondi-Santi’s legacy lives on – the production of red wines that rank amongst the finest and most age-worthy in the world.
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