This is a re-release of a wine that first hit the market some seven years ago. The Il Greppo estate did not make a Riserva in the 2011 vintage, and the 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is being reintroduced to the market (with only 2,500 bottles) to fill in this gap. This is a stunning wine that absolutely merits this considerable score increase. Made when dottore Franco Biondi Santi was alive and very present in the winery, this wine shows spectacular elegance and finesse, articulated with fine aromas of forest berry, blue flower, eucalyptus and lightly barbecued smoke. The wine shows extreme Sangiovese elegance and purity, and while the wine is almost fragile in approach, it ultimately reveals more brawn, volume and staying-power than anticipated.
VINTAGE 2006
The period from April to June was characterized by persistent rainfalls that favoured an important deposit of water in the soil, a useful reserve during the summer. The month of July was very hot and dry while the temperatures of August were slightly below average and the first part of September was warm and dry. The vines were able to develop their vegetative cycle in a regular manner without problems, benefiting from the last 2 warm weeks of September to achieve a perfectly balanced ripeness. Harvest began on September 18th.
ORIGIN
The 2006 Riserva was produced with our proprietary clone of Sangiovese Grosso called BBS11 (Brunello Biondi Santi 11), which was identified and selected by Biondi-Santi at Tenuta Greppo in the Seventies. For this Riserva we exclusively used grapes from the oldest vines with over 25 years of age.
AGEING
The 2006 Riserva was aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 3 years. It benefited from a long refinement in the bottle in the quiet and darkness of “La Storica”, the bottle library at Tenuta Greppo where all the historic vintages of Biondi-Santi Riserva are scrupulously kept.
EMOTION
With a bright ruby red colour this Riserva cleverly combines its impressive structure, characteristic of the 2006 vintage, and the lively acidity typical of Biondi-Santi, in a wine with great finesse and depth. The fruity notes are still fresh and well developed, underlined by balsamic hints and light floral sensations reminiscent of the vineyard in spring. It is well-balanced on the palate, sphere-shaped, soft and enveloping, leading us to a long-lingering, elegant, mineral aftertaste.
