In\nMay, my friend Andrea Bini called me to invite me and some of his friends to\nvisit Tenuta il Greppo Biondi Santi in Montalcino. Naturally, I accepted his\nkind invitation because I particularly love this winery’s wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nwas at this winery the previous year and tasted the Rosso di Montalcino 2020\n(93–\/100), the Rosso di Montalcino 2019 (92\/100), the Brunello di Montalcino\n2018 (96\/100), the Brunello di Montalcino 2017 (95\/100), the Brunello di\nMontalcino riserva 2016 (97\/100), the Brunello di Montalcino riserva 2015\n(98\/100), the Brunello di Montalcino riserva 2010 (97\/100) and the magnificent\nBrunello di Montalcino riserva 1988 to which I awarded 100\/100 without\nhesitation. During the invitation phone call, Andrea asked me if I knew the\ncompany’s CEO, Giampiero Bertolini, and I answered this question with a smile\nbecause I have known Giampiero for many years, since he worked for the\nFrescobaldi company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve\nalways considered Giampiero a serious, honest, and competent person. On the day\nof the visit, we were: Andrea Bini, Andrea Poli, Fabrizio Picchi, Massimo\nSabatini, Annalisa Di Stefano, Marco Lomoro, and myself. We went to the winery\nand were greeted by Giampiero and his secretary, who didn’t know I’d be there\nthat day. We were told the history of the winery and the birth of Brunello di\nMontalcino by Tancredi Biondi Santi, Franco’s father and Jacopo’s grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since\n2017, the property has been owned by the French group EPI, which also owns the\nTuscan winery Isole e Olena and the Charles Heidsieck champagne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since\nhe became CEO of Tenuta il Greppo, Giampiero has always told me that the\nproperty wants to maintain the same characteristics and quality of the wines of\nthe past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ncurrent winemaker at both Tenuta il Greppo and the Isole e Olena winery is the\nexcellent Alberto Antonini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After\nGiampiero explained the company’s history, we were told about the historic\nvertical tasting held several years ago, organized by Franco Biondi Santi.\nDuring the tasting, several reserve bottles were served, the oldest from 1888\nand the youngest from 1988. Franco wanted to celebrate the company’s 100th\nanniversary with this tasting. The lucky tasters were international\njournalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterwards\nwe went to see some of the company’s vineyards and then the winery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nwines continue to follow the same path before bottling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nwood is gradually changed, proof of this is that the 2018 Brunello di\nMontalcino Riserva has notes of “after eight” (bitter chocolate and\nintense mint) on the nose, a typical aroma of new wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among\nthe wines tasted was the 2010 Riserva, an excellent wine from a vintage that,\nin my opinion, was over-hyped and falsely praised in Montalcino. Of the many\n2010 Brunello di Montalcinos I’ve tasted, I’ve found a lack of balance between\nalcohol and freshness, with the former overriding the latter. Few wineries have\nproduced a 2010 worthy of note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ntasting was very pleasant and Giampiero was, as always, very kind and helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterwards,\nwe had lunch at the Fortezza di Montalcino wine shop, da Fabio Tassi, a producer\nof exceptionally pleasant wines. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and headed\nback to Florence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll\nmove on to describing the wines I tasted, but first I need to make the\nfollowing clarifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the\nwidth of the tannin, it’s important to clarify the following points so it can\nbe understood. I taste the tannin in the wine on the upper gum. The total width\nof the tannin is 6\/6, that is, the entire width of the upper gum. Obviously, if\nthe tannin is less wide, it could be, for example, 5\/6, and so on. The width of\nthe tannin is important when its quality is good or high. The wider the tannin,\nthe more worthy of attention the wine is, but the tannin, as I specified, must,\nin any case, be of good quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s now move\non to describing the wines we tasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IL GREPPO ESTATE – BIONDI SANTI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rosso di Montalcino D.O.C., 2022 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparent\nruby \u200b\u200bred coat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The olfactory\nscenario highlights aromas of crisp red cherry, mint, eucalyptus, violet,\nsacristy furniture impregnated with pleasant incense, light woody notes of\nepisperm (sweet from the skin of boiled chestnuts), light notes of blond\nleather, lavender soap (it reminds me of “Atkinson” soap) and ends\nwith whiffs of peeled tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate,\nit reveals a medium-bodied, delicate palate with a cherry flavor already\npresent on the nose. The alcohol-freshness balance is perfectly balanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tannins are\nsweet, quite broad (5\/6) and silky. Its taste persistence is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pleasant wine\nthat is drunk with great desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (92+\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n IL GREPPO ESTATE – BIONDI SANTI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G., 2019 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparent\ngarnet red dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rich and varied\nnose with aromas of rosemary, sage, bay leaves, cherry, boiled chestnut with\ndried wild fennel, ripe banana peel, cherry in alcohol and peeled tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate\nit has a medium body and is perfectly balanced with the freshness that\ncompletely envelops the alcoholic mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tannins are\nsweet, broad (6\/6–), initially silky and then, in the finish, slightly burning\nthe upper gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense\naromatic persistence is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n IL GREPPO ESTATE – BIONDI SANTI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reserve, 2018 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruby red with a\ngarnet rim shines through the glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The olfactory\ncasket opens with aromas reminiscent of “after eight” chocolate\n(bitter chocolate and intense mint), broken cyclamen stem (for the acidity),\nlight notes of boiled milk cream, cherry, eucalyptus, rosemary, sage, laurel,\nlight notes of rubber, finishing with pleasant wafts of juniper berry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate,\nit has a medium body and a slight flavor of new wood. Alcohol and freshness are\nin perfect harmony. The tannins are sweet, quite broad (5\/6), initially velvety\nand then drying out the upper gum a bit (the tannins of the new wood).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its palate is\nlong and persistent with a woody finish. The wine will need to absorb the new\noak, which is not present in the 2018 red. My assessment is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n IL GREPPO ESTATE – BIONDI SANTI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reserve, 2010 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It has a fairly\nintense garnet red colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rich and varied\nolfactory profile with aromas of black pepper, nutmeg, light hints of tannery\nleather, rhubarb root, small grains of licorice, cherry, plum, mint,\neucalyptus, boiled rice starch, finishing with very light wafts of stables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pleasant\nmouthfeel with a freshness that is generous and that does not make you feel,\neven minimally, the alcoholic mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is\nmedium plus and the wine is savory and mineral. The tannins are sweet, broad\n(6\/6), thick, initially silky and then drying out the upper gums a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense aromatic persistence is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (97\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In May, my friend Andrea Bini called me to invite me and some of his friends to visit Tenuta il Greppo Biondi Santi in Montalcino. Naturally, I accepted his kind invitation because I particularly love this winery’s wines. I was at this winery the previous year and tasted the Rosso di Montalcino 2020 (93–\/100), the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[750,746,137,749],"class_list":["post-16427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-anteprime-montalcino","tag-biondi-santi","tag-paolo-baracchino","tag-tenuta-il-greppo","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG-20250519-WA0029.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pav13q-4gX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16427"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16435,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16427\/revisions\/16435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}