I will often write a wine story to urge my readers to step outside their comfort zone and taste wines they rarely see and barely know, if they have been exposed to them at all. Wines from emerging and unknown regions can be great bargains, and whatever kept them at a distance in the past can now be corrected by better vine choices for a region or a specific plot, better vineyard and winery practices that are easily discoverable today and greater commercial access to the rest of the world.
But every now and then, I like to write about an exceptional wine evening that I had the great pleasure of experiencing. I was recently invited to a wine dinner at One White Street in Manhattan’s Tribeca to taste through a collection of five Biondi-Santi Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino DOCGs. Federico Radi has been at the helm of Biondi-Santi wine production since 2017 when he was the last candidate standing after an exhaustive search for just the right person to continue the magnificence the world expects from the winery Tenuta Greppo. The winery began in 1865 when the visionary Clemente Santi, from a winemaking family, started production of the Brunello grape. Testing eventually exposed Brunello as a clonal varietal of Sangiovese, which was widely planted throughout Tuscany. But this Sangiovese clone benefited from the precise altitude, soils and specific weather conditions in Montalcino to make a brilliant wine known for its longevity, capable of improving for decades.
This was Radi’s first visit to the United States. He grew up in Tuscany and has always worked there. Radi is playful and yet professional, fun-loving and yet detail-oriented; in short a wonderful host to present these Biondi-Santi Riservas. Since their vintage in 1888, the house of Biondi-Santi has declared a Riserva vintage only 42 times. And in 2016 Biondi-Santi Riserva 2010 was one of only two wines in the world to be awarded 100 points by the Wine Enthusiast. I asked Radi at what point does Tenuta Greppo declare a vintage a Riserva? “At harvest,” he told me. “We taste the grapes. This is when we know all the seasonal growing conditions have been perfect to make an elegant wine that can last a century.” All of the Riserva wines are produced from the oldest vines on the estate.
The first Riserva wine we tasted was the 2016, the last vintage before Radi took the reins. It showed a velvety mouthfeel, aromatic with hints of fine black pepper; equilibrium; and balance. Beautifully elegant and smooth, it has a great acidic backbone that carries it. Then we tasted the Riserva 2013 with spicy and ripe blackberry, tart raspberry and sour cherries. A symphony of flavors teased the palate.
Next we tasted the Riserva 2012 from a magnum format, which takes a bit longer to achieve its essence than a 750 ML bottle. It was the first time the 2012 magnum has been poured in the U.S. It has great freshness and acidity, jumping aromatics, red and black fruit, balsamic notes — an elegant, spicy wine. Bright red cherry eventually dominates – brilliant. The Riserva 1999 was our next pour, and it was my favorite — beautiful, aromatic, full-flavored and structured with pleasant, grippy tannins. Unlit cigar flavors and licorice emerged. And finally we tasted the Riserva 1983, a full 40 years since harvest. Clean and fresh red cherry flavors, so smooth, elegant and yet rustic, and softer tannins attest to its age – simply a wow.
Biondi-Santi wines are pure and unmanipulated with the majority of their success coming from the vineyards. Tancredi Biondi-Santi, a seventh-generation family winemaker, has said: “These wines are produced 99% in the vineyards.” The family ferments the wines in cement tanks. They age the wines in Slavonian oak barrels for three years. And then they put them to rest in a darkened room in the cellar called La Storica until the wine rests appropriately and is deemed ready for market. Check out their website for photographs and their story at www.Biondisanti.it.
So, to be clear: These are very special occasion wines. The pricing on these five wines
(in 750 ML bottle) ranges from $640 or so to $1,425 or so per bottle, and no, that’s not the Italian lira price. But if you ever get the chance, these wines stand up to the finest wines of the world. And they certainly complemented the brilliant, ethereal food and experience at One White Street in Manhattan.
Lucky me.
Write Doug at doug@dougpaulding.com.
