Biondi-Santi

History

Biondi-Santi, at the Tenuta Greppo just outside Montalcino, is the estate that created Brunello di Montalcino. In the mid-19th century Clemente Santi made pioneering long-aged reds from pure Sangiovese; his grandson Ferruccio Biondi Santi isolated a superior Sangiovese Grosso selection and made the first true Brunello, with the 1888 vintage regarded as the founding Riserva.

For over a century the family — through Tancredi and then Franco Biondi Santi — defined Brunello as a monumental, austere, extraordinarily age-worthy wine, and the estate's oldest Riservas (1888, 1891, 1925, 1945…) are among the most legendary bottles in Italian wine. The house style favours restraint, high acidity and decades of ageing potential.

The estate makes the Brunello di Montalcino Annata and the flagship Brunello Riserva, alongside a Rosso di Montalcino — all built on the Greppo Sangiovese Grosso. It remains the historic reference point of the appellation.