Biondi-Santi Tenuta Greppo Brunello di Montalcino 2017

It’s widely accepted that Biondi-Santi invented Brunello di Montalcino wine in the mid-1800s, and they’ve only perfected the style since then. This historic Tuscan producer is globally acknowledged for its part in the creation and rise of this now-famous biotype of Sangiovese and its charming hometown of Montalcino – and this 2017 Brunello di Montalcino only deepens their prestige. Biondi-Santi is a wine most oenophiles can’t wait to try...and for more than $150 off retail and with several high-praise reviews, today is a great day to check it off your list, or add another to your cellar!

Experiencing Biondi-Santi wine is like interacting with Italian wine royalty. They put Montalcino on the map and are the measuring stick against which all other Brunellos are gauged. Clemente Santi is considered the founder of the Brunello di Montalcino style, focusing on using the Sangiovese Grosso grape in a long-aged red wine. Clemente’s daughter married Dr. Jacopo Biondi, which is how the winery got its name, and that couple’s son, Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, is known for developing the family’s very own Sangiovese clone known as BBS11 (Brunello Biondi Santi 11) – the only varietal clone that includes the name of a producer, and the clone used in this 2017 Brunello on offer today!

The estate vineyard, Tenuta Greppo, is a high-altitude, terraced terroir southeast of Montalcino with galestro-rich soils of poor quality that grow grapes with a stunning balance of structure, fruit, and acidity. The hand-picked grapes are fermented in cement vats with native yeasts and aged in traditional, large Slavonian oak casks for 24 to 30 months. This is the last vintage made almost entirely by the Biondi-Santi family, before the new owners – a French company called EPI that also owns Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, among others – took over the complete production from field to bottle, starting in the 2018 vintage and onward.

With multiple soaring reviews, the 2017 is a total and complete enchantment, well worthy of its original price, but even more alluring at $150 off. As The Wine Independent’s 97-point review says: “The weight is beautifully ethereal with a little of that weightless quality that you find in very fine wines.” This isn’t just a red wine – it’s a masterpiece, and a masterclass in quality, tradition, and terroir. The fragrant aromas of vanilla, ripe red cherry, orange peel, and wildflowers accompany equally lovely flavors of summer strawberries, Herbes de Provence, aged leather, licorice, and anise. It has a freshness and bright acidity that is almost saline-like, and a grippiness to the tannins from the warmth of the 2017 vintage. Overall, it is pure, refined, and ever-so-approachable now as it will be in 10 to 20 years. Under $180 for a wine with such an iconic history and continued success is quite out of the ordinary, but a treat we will accept with enthusiasm! Make some of this yours while you still can!

PAIRING IDEAS: Osso Buco, anyone? This hearty Italian meal of herby braised veal shanks over risotto or polenta is the perfect pair to this dreamy and rich Brunello.