Region: Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Tuscany, Italy

Varietal: 100% Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello)

Producer: There is no Brunello di Montalcino without Biondi-Santi. The story begins in the mid-19th century when agronomist Clemente Santi began isolating a particularly robust clone of Sangiovese on his family's Tenuta Greppo estate. His grandson Ferruccio bottled the first Brunello in 1888, effectively inventing an appellation that now commands some of the world's highest prices. For decades Biondi-Santi was the sole producer of Brunello, guarding its identity through two world wars — historic vintages reportedly hidden behind cellar walls during German occupation. In 1969, Italy's president served the 1955 Riserva to Queen Elizabeth II at the Italian Embassy in London; she liked it, and a planting frenzy followed. Today the estate is owned by the French EPI Group, with CEO Giampiero Bertolini leading a new chapter of investment and research — including a parcelisation study identifying 12 distinct plots across the 32-hectare estate — while the traditional winemaking philosophy remains firmly intact.

Vineyard & Winemaking: The Rosso is made from the estate's youngest vines on Tenuta Greppo, sourced from the clay-rich plots that, as Bertolini confirmed at a recent tasting, are specifically responsible for the wine's beautiful fresh fruit character. The estate's soils are a mix of galestro — the crumbly Tuscan schist that provides drainage and mineral tension — and marl, at elevations that favour freshness and finesse over power. In the cellar, nothing has changed in philosophy: native yeast fermentation in cement or steel, deliberate and discreet extraction, and one year of aging in large neutral Slavonian oak botti — never new oak, never barriques. Oak frames the wine here; it never flavors it.

Tasting Notes: The 2020 is a beautifully articulate Rosso — bright ruby in colour with a nose of fresh red cherry, violet, dried herbs, and a flinty mineral edge that speaks directly of the galestro soils. On the palate it is medium-bodied, precise, and refreshingly taut — classic Biondi-Santi restraint on full display, with fine-grained tannins, penetrating acidity, and a long, clean finish that already hints at the complexity to come. This is not a wine in a hurry, even at the Rosso level. Drink it now with pleasure, or hold it and watch it reward patience the way only Montalcino Sangiovese can.