By Aris Sklavenitis (Sommelier – Oenologist)

Biondi Santi 2011, Sangiovese, Tenuta Greppo Franco Biondi Santi, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, Ιταλία

The Biondi Santi winery produces some of Italy’s most iconic wines. He is known as “the founder or otherwise the inventor” of Brunello di Montalcino. In 1896, Clemente Santi, son of the Santi family, where he inherited the Greppo estate, won two medals at the Montepulciano Agricultural Fair, and a huge success was the medal he won at the Paris International Fair with his white wine Moscatello. With the same passion, his grandson Clemente Ferruccio, continued to produce wines from the Brunello variety. The winery received great exposure when the President of Italy, at an official dinner at the Italian Embassy in London, offered Biondi Santi Brunello to Queen Elizabeth, with the newspapers of the time praising it. Something worth mentioning is the wine’s consistently high ratings from wine critics, with Robert Parker including the 1955 vintage among the 12 best wines in the world. Jacopo Biondi Santi is at the helm of the winery, an ambitious entrepreneur continuing the family tradition.

Biondi Santi 2011, is a wine created from 25 year old vineyards and over, of course only in exceptional vintages, and aged in Slovenian oak for 36 months before bottling. A rich expression of the Sangiovese grape variety in the Montalcino region with a deep purple colour, intense aromatic intensity, with aromas of red and black fruits, hints of floral and herbal elements, vanilla, earthiness and spices. On the palate it is dry with accentuated acidity, rich tannins, full body and a long finish. Pair it with a Bistecca alla Fiorentina!

Score: 19/20

20 – Outstanding wine

19 – Top wine

18 – A cut above superior

17 – Superior

16 – High-quality wine

15 – Average wine, a perfectly nice drink