Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino 2011
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Winery: Biondi Santi
Vintage: 2011
Grape: Sangiovese
Drinking window: 2019 - 2045
Region: Tuscany
Production: 25.000 bottles
THE ITALIAN GRAPE (98)
I drank this wine earlier this spring in a lineup with many top wines from Tuscany, but this one stood out head and shoulders above the rest. It is a beautiful wine with many aromas that continue to develop. The finish is wonderfully smooth and becomes more balanced with time. The wine truly tells a story if you drink it patiently. It is already drinking beautifully now, but it will easily last another 20 years.
WINE ENTHUSIAST (96)
Beautifully balanced, this opens with alluring scents of wild berry, rose, baking spice and whiffs of chopped herb. Seamlessly combining ripe fruit and the firm's trademark finesse, the bright elegantly structured palate delivers juicy wild cherry, crushed raspberry, white pepper and a hint of black tea framed in polished tannins and fresh acidity. It's already tempting but the best is yet to come.
VINOUS (96)
Dark red. Musky nuances give way to brighter red fruit, licorice and herbal aromas. Rich and dense, with flavors of red cherry and minerals lifted by hints of orange peel and bergamot, not to mention noteworthy but harmonious acidity. Finishes long with youthfully chewy tannins and lingering hints of violet. This strikes me as a slightly readier to drink version of Brunello Riserva from Biondi-Santi, but as always, it improves greatly with aeration so decant at least six hours ahead for maximum enjoyment.
About the wine
Ferruccio Biondi Santi is recognized as the founder of Brunello di Montalcino, having pioneered the use of a unique Sangiovese clone in the late 1800s to create a wine with exceptional aging potential and complexity. The Biondi Santi family chose not to copyright the Brunello di Montalcino name, instead sharing their knowledge with other producers to collectively raise the standard of the wine. Tancredi Biondi Santi, born in 1893, was instrumental in marketing the wine internationally, establishing its iconic label, and helping to secure its DOC and later DOCG status.
Tancredi’s son, Franco, expanded the Il Greppo estate and championed traditional winemaking methods, using Slavonian oak barrels to create wines with remarkable longevity. Franco’s dedication to producing wines that could age for decades further enhanced the prestige of Brunello di Montalcino. After Franco’s passing in 2013, his son Jacopo and grandson Tancredi continued the family legacy, maintaining the Biondi Santi tradition of crafting elegant, long-lived wines that are revered worldwide for their quality and heritage.
The 2011 vintage in Montalcino was rainy in June and was followed by a relatively dry July, with August and September being exceptionally hot and dry. Harvesting began on September 8th, bringing in healthy grapes that were ripe, richly colored, and had thick skins. The 2011 Brunello was crafted using the proprietary Sangiovese Grosso clone, BBS11 (Brunello Biondi Santi 11), which was identified and selected by Biondi-Santi at Tenuta Greppo in the 1970s. For this Brunello, Biondi Santi exclusively used grapes from vines aged between 10 and 25 years. The 2011 Brunello was aged for 3 years in Slavonian oak barrels and benefited from an extended refinement period in the bottle.
