THE PRODUCER
Before the modern history of italian wine there was Biondi-Santi, founded in
1865, and arguably the “pioneer” of modern Brunello di Montalcino. While many
other estates are producing great wines now, few other estates have the
pedigree, history and reputation of consistently producing the finest wines for
well over a century. Biondi Santi owns 26 ha vineyards split over three sites,
of which Il Greppo is the original vineyard and where the winery is located, and
the other two sites are found in the eastern and southern parts of Moontalcino.

5th generation Franco famously said that his role “is to protect the traditions
that created Brunello while defending its typicity from any winemaking practices
that could change its quintessential character”. And this very much encapsulates
the traditional style of wines produced here, with ageing in large Slavonian oak
casks in order to fully let the greatness of the fruit and terroir express
themselves. Riserva is only produced in exceptional years, and always from the
oldest vines on the Greppo estate, planted in 1936. Roughly 39 vintages of
Riserva have been made since 1988.

THE WINE
Biondi Santi’s Brunello Tenuta Greppo is derived from high altitude estate grown
vineyards cared for with the utmost precision. Fermentation takes place in
cement vats and is followed by ageing in large Slavonian oak casks for 3 years.
One of the first and most traditional of Brunellos, Biondi Santi’s is one not to
be missed with its silky tannins and freshness, refined balance and herbaceous
red cherry complexity.

INFORMATION
Type:RedVintage:2016Country:ItalyRegion:Tuscany
Sub region:Brunello di Montalcino
Grape:100% SangioveseStyle:Bold and StructuredSweetness:DryABV:14%Drinking
window:2025 - 2050Size:750mlFood match:Beef and Venison

CRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.