Biondi Santi
About Biondi Santi
Widely acknowledged as the most noble name in Tuscany, Biondi Santi is historically linked to the inception, development and flourishing of the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The first estate to be recorded as crafting what oenophiles around the globe know and love as Brunello (there is some academic disagreement), there is no doubt whatsoever with regards to its trailblazing status in the region.
Dubbed in 1932 “the inventor of Brunello”, Ferruccio Biondi Santi was in fact the third generation of his family to craft age-worthy wines in the area. His great uncle Giorgio Santi was said to have been the first to vinify a pure Sangiovese wine in the late 1800s, and the legacy of this extraordinary family has led experts such as Antonio Galloni (Vinous) to declare this “the estate that put Brunello di Montalcino on the map”.
Historical significance aside, it is the uniquely perfect situation of the Biondi Santi vineyards which see it placed firmly at the pinnacle of Brunello producers. Perched at an elevated position amongst the rolling hills of Montalcino, its vines enjoy a unique micro-climate alongside a remarkably broad diurnal range. These temperature differences decelerate ripening during the harvest period, in turn allow the grapes to develop complex, nuanced aromas which reflect the very greatest characteristics of Brunello di Montalcino.
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Wine Advocate (98+)
The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is initially a reticent wine and one that does not immediately subscribe to the overstated abundance and exuberance of the vintage. Give it time. I wrote this review after several tastings over several days so I could ensure a more accurate account of the wine's elegant reveal. Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release (at 14.5%), but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless. I tasted bottle number 256.HK$8,790.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.HK$9,960.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.HK$6,860.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.HK$10,955.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (98)
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva pours a deeper red color, while the nose reveals aromas of strawberries, anise spice, and roses, along with incense. Medium-bodied, refreshing, and mouthwatering, with a refined feel, it displays a ripe citrus-noted profile on the palate, with a hint of dusty earth and a long, clean finish. It's a beautiful and freshly styled Riserva to enjoy over the coming 20 years. Bottled in June of 2023, 9000 bottles were produced.HK$9,815.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (98)
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva pours a deeper red color, while the nose reveals aromas of strawberries, anise spice, and roses, along with incense. Medium-bodied, refreshing, and mouthwatering, with a refined feel, it displays a ripe citrus-noted profile on the palate, with a hint of dusty earth and a long, clean finish. It's a beautiful and freshly styled Riserva to enjoy over the coming 20 years. Bottled in June of 2023, 9000 bottles were produced.HK$23,085.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (98)
The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva pours a deeper red color, while the nose reveals aromas of strawberries, anise spice, and roses, along with incense. Medium-bodied, refreshing, and mouthwatering, with a refined feel, it displays a ripe citrus-noted profile on the palate, with a hint of dusty earth and a long, clean finish. It's a beautiful and freshly styled Riserva to enjoy over the coming 20 years. Bottled in June of 2023, 9000 bottles were produced.HK$13,305.00 -
(1x75cl) 2012Vinous (90)
Bright full red. Strawberry, raspberry, licorice, violet and minerals on the captivating nose. Bright, fresh and seamless, with wonderfully juicy, crisp red berry and flint flavors complicated by a strong violet quality. Still very backward and tight, made in the austere style that is typical of this world-famous estate, but one can already appreciate the sheer depth of this powerfully built wine. Best right now on the vibrant, perfumed nose and the slowly mounting, extremely long finish, which features noble tannins and repeating notes of violet and flinty minerals.HK$735.00 -
Vinous (94)
Il Greppo's 2015 Rosso di Montalcino is absolutely gorgeous. Sweet tobacco, dried red cherry, cedar, rosemary, mint and anise give the Rosso lovely aromatic complexity, but it is the wine's body and resonance that stand out most. A wine of real stature and depth, Biondi-Santi's 2015 Rosso is all class, not to mention a real overachiever in my tastings and a rare Rosso that delivers the goods big time. Sadly, it won't come cheaply.HK$1,975.00 -
(1x75cl) 2016Vinous (93)
The 2016 Rosso di Montalcino hails from lower-elevation vineyards, around 250 meters, in the northern section of Montalcino. It’s a classic, layered and dramatic wine, showing bright cherry, sweet herbs, cooling mint, dried fall leaves, tobacco and savory spice, with a presence and depth that feels more like Brunello than Rosso in character. There’s sweetness and purity to the fruit here that keeps me coming back to the glass, yet I’m sure that the 2016 will benefit from a few years of cellaring, especially as its fine tannins build toward the close. The Rosso spends twelve months maturing in Slavonian oak, and it is released two years later than most.HK$1,075.00 -
Vinous (92)
There’s a purity and savory refinement to the 2017 Rosso di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo that transcends the expectations of this warm and dry vintage. A perfumed display of wild strawberries, fresh roses, violets and a dusting of minerals lift up from the glass. Its textures are silky, carried across a feminine frame, with bright cherries and inner herbal tones that find vibrancy through a core of brilliant acidity. Nuanced tannins and dried berries linger, leaving a lightly structured yet very pretty impression. This is a great introduction to the Biondi-Santi portfolio and deserves the moniker of “Baby Brunello''. That said, the 2017 could use another year of cellaring to further unlock its inner beauty.HK$4,580.00 -
Vinous (92)
A bright, vibrant red in the glass, the 2018 Rosso di Montalcino takes its time, slowly unfolding to show pretty roses and hints of cherry, leather and Tuscan dust. It’s silky and caressing on the palate, revealing outstanding purity with a vivid display of wild strawberry and minerals. The 2018 then takes a turn toward the savory side, becoming quite mineral yet remaining juicy and remarkably fresh for such a young Rosso. While this is a bit of a departure from the typical “Baby Brunello” style of the Biondi-Santi Rosso, I find it quite attractive and a nice option for enjoying the house style without buying up to the bigger wines.HK$4,445.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its dusty mix of dried strawberries and currants offset by lifting nuances of shaved pine and mint. Soft and round in expression, the 2019 impresses on its lush textures and vivid wild berry fruit. Through it all, a core of saline tension builds, mingling minerals with gentle tannins, as the 2019 finishes with a staining of concentration, yet maintains a lovely freshness.HK$3,060.00 -
(12x75cl) 2020Wine Advocate (94)
The Biondi-Santi 2020 Rosso di Montalcino is a very expressive and generous wine with perfumed aromas of softly fragrant heritage rose, violet, redcurrant and rosemary essence. Those herbal notes come out nicely in this vintage, and there is elegantly chalky tannin to close. This vintage saw rain in June and higher temperatures later in the summer. This wine is drinking beautifully now and offers a pleasantly immediate drinking style.HK$6,980.00 -
(6x75cl) 2020Wine Advocate (94)
The Biondi-Santi 2020 Rosso di Montalcino is a very expressive and generous wine with perfumed aromas of softly fragrant heritage rose, violet, redcurrant and rosemary essence. Those herbal notes come out nicely in this vintage, and there is elegantly chalky tannin to close. This vintage saw rain in June and higher temperatures later in the summer. This wine is drinking beautifully now and offers a pleasantly immediate drinking style.HK$3,235.00 -
Wine Advocate (95+)
This is an epic vintage that has been expertly interpreted by the Biondi-Santi winemaking team. The 2021 Rosso di Montalcino has impressive complexity and finesse, the result of many complicated blending decisions. The wine remains on the shy side at the moment and will need a few more years of bottle age before its full bouquet comes into focus. The wine is essentially linear and sharp with firm structure, seething energy and bright red fruit. The vintage was warm, dry and luminous. The Sangiovese harvest started on the 9th of September.HK$3,875.00 -
HK$5,245.00

