wine still
reserve
Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Chianti Classico DOCG, Italy
About this product
Biondi-Santi Brunello Riserva is made only in exceptional years from old-vine Brunello Sangiovese at Il Greppo. Released after 6+ years aging (including minimum 3.5 years in large Slavonian oak). The wine is famously austere in youth — tight, tannic, demanding — but opens into something extraordinary after 20-30 years. Great vintages: 1955, 1964, 1975, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2012, 2016.
The deductive profile Library
appearancegarnet, browning rim, brick-orange at maturity
nosedried cherry, dried rose, tar, tobacco, leather, forest floor, camphor
palatehigh acidity, firm tannin, great length, austere in youth
signatureMontalcino finesse — more elegant and floral than Barolo's earthiness
blind cluesSangiovese: cherry + dried flower + tobacco; more acid-driven than Nebbiolo
Service
agingminimum 15 years; ideal 25-40 years
decantingyoung: 3-4 hours; mature: 1-2 hours carefully
temperature17-18C
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Open The LibraryThe quality ladder Library
Brunello Riserva — Italy's founding great red wine
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Open The LibraryTasting profile
dried cherry, dried rose, tar, tobacco, leather, forest floor, camphor
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Pairings
complement
celebration
Biondi-Santi Brunello Riserva belongs with the Florentine steak; the greatest Tuscan wine for the greatest Tuscan cut
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Dairy fermented
Pecorino di Pienza (aged sheep milk cheese from the Crete Senesi) and Brunello is a regional pairing of profound simplicity. The wine's tannin cuts the sheep fat; the honey bridges the dried cherry in the wine; the walnut echoes the tobacco notes.
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cheese
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Meat poultry
Brunello and bistecca alla Fiorentina is the Tuscan prestige pairing of the century; the wine's iron-cherry character mirrors the char while its tannins grip the fat
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Wagyu premium protein
The definitive Tuscan pairing — Chianina beef T-bone, 1kg minimum, grilled very rare over chestnut charcoal, with just olive oil, salt, and lemon. Brunello Riserva's tannin structure precisely matches the protein and fat of aged Chianina beef; the wine's acidity cuts through the charred fat. One of Italy's great terroir pairings.
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Charcuterie cheese
Pienza's aged Pecorino and Montalcino's Brunello share the same hilltop terroir; the cheese's lanolin and salt create a perfect mineral-animal bridge with the wine's iron and leather
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truffle
Biondi-Santi Riserva belongs at the summit of Italian gastronomy; wild boar pappardelle with truffle is its equal
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food
Biondi-Santi Riserva belongs with Sienese wild boar stewed with olives and capers; a historical Montalcino terroir pairing
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Fungi truffles
Hare ragù's concentrated gamey reduction and Brunello Riserva's iron-leather-cherry character are natural equals; both require years of maturation to show their complexity
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