James Suckling (99)

A stunning wine. This is the best Testamatta ever made. Fascinating aromas of red fruits, tea, bark and wet soil as well as fresh leather. Full body, silky tannins and a juicy finish. I love the tension and texture of this great red. So gorgeous to taste now but better in 2021.

Jancis Robinson (18)

Bright garnet. Immediately cool and fresh on the nose. More liquorice than most Brunellos. Elegant and polished leather. Lots of dusty tannin. Dry finish but with a special nobility. Very fragrant without any heat. Very dry on the end - but admirably uncompromising.

Wine Enthusiast (94)

A few swirls of the glass release delicate, enticing aromas of red berry, rose, iris, tobacco, new leather and star anise on this elegant, almost ethereal wine. The restrained palate sneaks up you, offering tart cherry, crushed strawberry, white pepper and a note of black tea alongside a backbone of firm, refined tannins. Still primary and tight, it needs a few more years to fully open up and develop. Drink 2020–2031.

Wine Advocate (97+)

The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino exudes dark, velvety fruit and concentration while maintaining the signature elegance, suppleness and lithe personalty that distinguishes the iconic Il Greppo estate. I found this new release to be quite distinctive and exquisitely beautiful, setting it apart from many of the past vintages we are most familiar with. This 2015 edition is dark, exuberant and bold, but precise, focused and sharp as well. It will live for years in your cellar, but tasted now in its infancy, the wine shows blackberry, dried cherry, plum and dark cassis. Those dark fruit tones segue to a rich presentation of tar, spice, earth, tobacco and sweet balsam herb. The bouquet offers seamless and smooth transitions. This warm and sunny growing season favored richness and phenolic weight. Wines from Biondi-Santi are made for the long haul, and the fresh acidity that characterizes this estate is the principle reason why. However, I'd argue that this wine from 2015 will evolve over the years not only thanks to the freshness but more so thanks to the important structure of this solid and profound wine.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Aromas of rose petal, dark spice, woodland berries and camphor form the nose on this fragrant, elegant wine. Loaded with finesse, the linear, savory palate features red cherry, orange zest, star anise and black tea alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. It's still youthfully austere, with fantastic aging potential.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Aromas of rose petal, dark spice, woodland berries and camphor form the nose on this fragrant, elegant wine. Loaded with finesse, the linear, savory palate features red cherry, orange zest, star anise and black tea alongside tightly wound, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. It's still youthfully austere, with fantastic aging potential.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

The 2017 Brunello Di Montalcino is surprising in its freshness, considering the warmth of the vintage, and speaks to the cooler, northern-facing exposition of the estate. It is refined with ripe red cherry, raspberry, anise, and incense and is fresh with cherry fruit, warming spices, macchia, and herbes de Provence. It is ripe though it maintains a medium frame, with well-managed tannins and balanced acidity. It is a lovely and charming wine and is rather approachable now.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

The 2017 Brunello Di Montalcino is surprising in its freshness, considering the warmth of the vintage, and speaks to the cooler, northern-facing exposition of the estate. It is refined with ripe red cherry, raspberry, anise, and incense and is fresh with cherry fruit, warming spices, macchia, and herbes de Provence. It is ripe though it maintains a medium frame, with well-managed tannins and balanced acidity. It is a lovely and charming wine and is rather approachable now.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

The 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino will be released on March 1, 2024. The color is medium red/garnet, and the nose opens to fresh aromas of orange citrus peel, dusty earth, cranberry, spices, and juniper. Medium-bodied and more linear, it lifts through the palate with fine tannins and a refreshing, mouthwatering finish. It has a great saline feel and is a savory and fresh wine. This is a Brunello I’d love to drink over the next 10 years for its accessibility and refined texture, although I imagine it will also have some real potential for cellaring.

Vinous (99)

It’s almost impossible to imagine that the 1985 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva La Storica has just celebrated its thirty-sixth birthday. It displays a brilliant ruby red color and amazing clarity in the glass, with only the slightest bricking around the rim. The bouquet alone is enough to keep you at the edge of your seat, as if opening a cedar treasure box to find dusty rose and sour cherry offset by spiced orange, crushed dried sage and just the slightest hint of animal musk. This is total class, cool-toned and poised, seeming to hover across the palate with an air of red inner florals, as tart woodland berries mix with hints of black tea and lemon oils. There’s a bolt of nervous acidity that keeps the experience remarkably fresh, but also adds a highly attractive sweet and sour note. And finally, while structured and youthful in feel, it finishes completely fresh, vibrant even, with dried currants enlivened by nuances of grapefruit and mint that linger on and on. This is an experience wine in every sense of the word, hailing from a dry and warm harvest yet exemplifying the purity of Sangiovese, as well as its ability to mature for well over three decades. The 1985 La Storica comes directly from the winery’s aging vault, and it was reconditioned with a new cork in 2000.

James Suckling (97)

Fantastic aromas of coffee, tea leaf, ripe plums and ginger follow through to a full body, firm and silky tannins and a rich and subtle finish. The is dense and powerful yet very refined and reserved. It needs at least five years to show its true character. One of the most refined Biondi-Santi riservas I can remember. The tannin texture is exceptional. Try in 2020.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.

Wine Advocate (98)

The Biondi-Santi 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a stunning wine from all points of view. Seamless integration and elegant complexity are what stand out, and it's worth dedicating a few extra lines to the aromatic depth that is put so beautifully on display as the wine slowly unfolds. The bouquet starts off with wild cherry, earth, wet ash, crème de cassis and pruny chocolate. With extra time, there are hints of dried tobacco leaf, sandalwood and mossy forest floor. These lead to a fine tail of dried herb, bay leaf and a touch of rusty nail. The Riserva comes in numbered bottles, and I opened number 04277. To the palate, the wine is streamlined and silky with smooth tannins and a well-managed 13.5% alcohol content. The oak presence is reduced to a minimum, offering mild hints of spice and the delicate sandalwood or dried fig aroma I described above. Fresh acidity is the glue that gives the wine buoyancy and staying power. At this young stage, this 2013 vintage could be considered a bit shy or slow to start, but this will play out to great advantage in the long term as the wine continues its bottle evolution.

Wine Advocate (98+)

The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is initially a reticent wine and one that does not immediately subscribe to the overstated abundance and exuberance of the vintage. Give it time. I wrote this review after several tastings over several days so I could ensure a more accurate account of the wine's elegant reveal. Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release (at 14.5%), but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless. I tasted bottle number 256.

Wine Advocate (98+)

The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is initially a reticent wine and one that does not immediately subscribe to the overstated abundance and exuberance of the vintage. Give it time. I wrote this review after several tastings over several days so I could ensure a more accurate account of the wine's elegant reveal. Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release (at 14.5%), but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless. I tasted bottle number 256.

Wine Advocate (99)

Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.

Wine Advocate (99)

Wow, here is a vintage I've been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector's bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.

Vinous (92)

There’s a purity and savory refinement to the 2017 Rosso di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo that transcends the expectations of this warm and dry vintage. A perfumed display of wild strawberries, fresh roses, violets and a dusting of minerals lift up from the glass. Its textures are silky, carried across a feminine frame, with bright cherries and inner herbal tones that find vibrancy through a core of brilliant acidity. Nuanced tannins and dried berries linger, leaving a lightly structured yet very pretty impression. This is a great introduction to the Biondi-Santi portfolio and deserves the moniker of “Baby Brunello''. That said, the 2017 could use another year of cellaring to further unlock its inner beauty.

Vinous (92)

A bright, vibrant red in the glass, the 2018 Rosso di Montalcino takes its time, slowly unfolding to show pretty roses and hints of cherry, leather and Tuscan dust. It’s silky and caressing on the palate, revealing outstanding purity with a vivid display of wild strawberry and minerals. The 2018 then takes a turn toward the savory side, becoming quite mineral yet remaining juicy and remarkably fresh for such a young Rosso. While this is a bit of a departure from the typical “Baby Brunello” style of the Biondi-Santi Rosso, I find it quite attractive and a nice option for enjoying the house style without buying up to the bigger wines.

Vinous (92)

The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its dusty mix of dried strawberries and currants offset by lifting nuances of shaved pine and mint. Soft and round in expression, the 2019 impresses on its lush textures and vivid wild berry fruit. Through it all, a core of saline tension builds, mingling minerals with gentle tannins, as the 2019 finishes with a staining of concentration, yet maintains a lovely freshness.

Savour the finesse and emanating notes of the equisitely-crafted Boggione Barolo Brunate 2013. Nestled on the verdant slopes of La Morra, Italy, this vintage wine is a rendition of artisanal craftmanship of the revered winemaker Claudio Boggione. The vineyard meticulously adapts traditional methods, aging the wine for 48 months in Slavonic oak casks to infuse a robust, complex flavour profile.

Boggione Barolo Brunate 2013 brings forth a delightful bouquet comprising of ripe cherries and rose petals, subtly laced with delicate nuances of clove and truffle. At the heart, it reveals a sophisticated palette of dark fruit and spices with a firm tannin structure. Its poised acidity and enduring finish echo the memorable Langhe terroir.

An elegant Nebbiolo masterpiece, this coveted wine embodies the cellar's pursuit of excellence. An unparalleled consignment for every fine wine lover, Boggione Barolo Brunate 2013 is a harmonious blend of traditional craft and bold Italian authenticity.

Nestled in the esteemed vineyards of La Morra in Piedmont, Italy, lies the prestigious Boggione family estate, the birthplace of the majestic Boggione Barolo Brunate 2014. Elegant and full-bodied, this Nebbiolo wine captures the quintessence of the 2014 harvest, personifying the artistry of the winemaker Claudio Boggione. The wine is aged for a minimum of 36 months in 25-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels, emerging with a ruby-red hue and complex layers of depth.

The Boggione Barolo Brunate 2014 exhibits an aromatic profile of ripe red fruits, complex spices, and delicate undertones of soft velvety tannins, completed by an extraordinarily persistent finish. It's termendously tasty and notable for its long-life structure, making it highly collectible for wine connoisseurs. Its origin, the Brunate cru, is globally recognised as one of the best terroirs for the production of Barolo. Sipping the Boggione Barolo Brunate 2014 is an encounter with the soulful poetry of Italy's most cherished wine regions.

Vinous (93)

Claudio Boggione's 2016 Barolo Brunate is all class. Beautifully perfumed and sensual, the 2016 captures all of the beguiling aromatic intensity that makes Nebbiolo and Barolo so captivating. Rose petal, mint, cedar, bright red cherry, dried flowers and star anise are some of the many notes that lift from the glass. Although Boggione's 2016 doesn't have the gravitas and power usually associated with Brunate, it is an archetype of traditionally-made Barolo that will delight readers with classically leaning palates. I loved it.

Vinous (93)

Claudio Boggione's 2016 Barolo Brunate is all class. Beautifully perfumed and sensual, the 2016 captures all of the beguiling aromatic intensity that makes Nebbiolo and Barolo so captivating. Rose petal, mint, cedar, bright red cherry, dried flowers and star anise are some of the many notes that lift from the glass. Although Boggione's 2016 doesn't have the gravitas and power usually associated with Brunate, it is an archetype of traditionally-made Barolo that will delight readers with classically leaning palates. I loved it.

The Boggione Barolo Brunate 2017 is an epitome of finesse and sophistication from the illustrious Barolo region of Italy. Crafted by renowned producer Claudio Boggione, the vino exudes harmony and balance, reflecting the artisan's meticulous attention to detail. In the creation process, it undergoes fermentation in steel, followed by ageing in large Slavonian oak casks for a span of 15 months, imbuing it with undeniable character.

The intense ruby red beauty encapsulates the authentic essence of Nebbiolo grapes, offering a rich bouquet of dried rose petals, tobacco leaves, and ripe fruits. On the palate, Boggione Barolo Brunate 2017 presents a robust yet elegant flavour profile of red cherries, plums, and spices, underlined by soft tannins and an enduring finish.

With a limited production, each bottle is genuinely exclusive, making Boggione Barolo Brunate 2017 a must-have for those seeking rarity and quality in fine wine.