Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Cru 2019 (3-Pack Horizontal)

The newest jewels in the storied Biondi-Santi family’s crown, their first EVER vintage, THREE new single Crus from the glorious Castello di Montepò estate in Maremma, Toscana – a 100 point sangiovese, 100 point cabernet sauvignon, and a 98 point sangiovese that was just named a top Decanter critic’s #1 wine of 2023...all from the iconic, historic, Italian royalty that is Biondi-Santi?! Be still my heart! This is perhaps the most collectible new Italian wine to hit the market in quite some time!

This 3-pack will include 1 bottle of each:

- Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Sangiovese Poggio Ferro Toscana 2019 (Tasting Panel 100 points)

 - Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Cabernet Sauvignon Fontecanese Toscana 2019 (Tasting Panel 100 points)

- Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Sangiovese Maceone Toscana 2019 (Tasting Panel 98 points) 

Ever since the Biondi-Santi family sold their shares in their namesake Montalcino winery back in 2018 – perhaps the most storied winery in Italian history and the founder of Brunello di Montalcino – we’ve been waiting for this! Castello di Montepò is the family’s 11th-century castle, set high on a hill, overlooking a jaw-dropping 600-hectare estate, a little over 10 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, and just about 20 miles south of the family’s origins in Montalcino. Jacopo Biondi Santi – at the helm of his family’s illustrious winery for decades – bought the Castello di Montepò in the early 80s, meticulously planting over 120 acres, mostly to his family’s completely unique and prized sangiovese BBS11 clone, with some cabernet sauvignon and a small parcel of merlot as well. Unlike Montalcino’s over 250 producers today – Montepò is one of only a handful of producers in the region – and the region has little of the tourism and infrastructure enjoyed by wineries in Montalcino or Chianti Classico. Jacopo and his son, Tancredi, make the wines hand-in-hand here, and they speak about the potential of Maremma, specifically here in Scansano as though they traveled back in time to Montalcino over 50 years ago. When the founders of one of the world’s greatest estates, in Italy’s most popular region, tell you that THIS estate and THIS region could well be the next in line...you listen. Watch these prices skyrocket around the world over the next decade, and then you can come back and thank us for acting now! Each cru is 100% of a single varietal, grown on a series of unique soils scattered across the property, and each bottling absolutely stunned every one of us on First Bottle’s tasting team. We first tasted them at VinItaly in 2023, and then again in November last year on a wondrous, best-day-ever sort of tasting and tour of the Montepò estate, and most recently again at VinItaly 2024. The stunning wines have only gotten better and better, with literal decades of prime drinking to come!

We spent hours touring the vineyards ourselves, and the diversity of soils, the micro-climates, the vines – it is impossible not to be impressed. Throw on a magnificent ancient stone castle – that houses the winery, the cellar, and the residence of the Biondi-Santi family – overlooking all, and it truly doesn’t get better. They spent over 30 years farming this estate, making a series of exploratory wines, and conducting non-stop experiments both in the cellars and in the vineyards, to pinpoint these three Crus – the very best expressions of Castello di Montepò. It took three decades plus for this untapped land to flourish, and the undivided attention of Tancredi, Jacopo, and their team to fully understand what this land is...as well as what it can be. In my book, it is already one of the greatest estates in Italy – and it’s just getting started. If you add these to your collection, you’ll be amazed at what these beauties do over time. Tuscany simply doesn’t get much better than this!!!

We’re thrilled to have been the very first in the country to share access to these incredibly pure expressions of Italy – through the lens of its most historic wine family. It simply doesn’t get more collectible than this – so grab yourself a three-pack and become a part of the newest chapter in the iconic Biondi-Santi family’s history!

Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Sangiovese Poggio Ferro Toscana 2019: This Cru means “iron hill” for the brick red flysch soils where the grapes grow. It’s a stressful environment, with meager nutrients, exposed to the south where strong winds flow down from Montalcino through to the coast. 100% BBS11 sangiovese, loaded with a big, beautiful bouquet of violets, lavender, and hibiscus, plus juicy and tart red cherries, rhubarb, cranberry tea, red plums, grilled rosemary, and thyme – with big, silky tannins, iron, slate, and a mineral edge...plus a finish that lasts for days! This might turn out to be the best sangiovese I’ve ever had, with the depth and power to last DECADES! We’ve tasted this several times now and it just gets better and better. 100 points and worth every, single, one (that’s rare!).

Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Cabernet Sauvignon Fontecanese Toscana 2019: 100% cabernet sauvignon is incredibly rare for Italy, and this is just jaw-dropping! Big, flashy, but not oaky, and with a gorgeous balance and purity...you’ll be blown away! Powerful cherry kirsch notes, with blueberries, black plums, blackberries, cinnamon, Chinese 5 spice, and smoldering sage, plus hints of fennel and clove – so utterly complex, so fresh, this is a STUNNER! 100 points and an absolute MUST for any cab-lover.

Jacopo Biondi Santi Castello di Montepò Sangiovese Maceone Toscana 2019: This plot is on the opposite side of the estate from Poggio Ferro, with an east/west orientation, on clay marl soils leading to drastically different wines. The winemaking is the same, the clonal material and aging regiment the same, but this wine is richer, rounder, with a spicy, almost hedonistic depth, and a warm, savory character. Despite the same age of the vines (20-25 years old) as Poggio Ferro – these are the thicker and more developed of the two, and the wine showcases this exceptionally well. Dusty cherries, savory smoky notes, with dried flowers, and cassis, then heady notes of licorice, grilled herbs, new leather, mushrooms, and truffles, all with a salty, graphite finish, and a final note of roasting coffee beans. It’s immensely layered and just starting to open up...yet shows best after a long decant, and with the staying power of decades to come. This is the sleeper in the bunch – don’t be surprised if it ends up being your favorite.