2011 Biondi Santi Riserva Brunello di Montalcino

WE96 Beautifully balanced, this opens with alluring scents of wild berry, rose, baking spice and whiffs of chopped herb. Seamlessly combining ripe fruit and the firm’s trademark finesse, the bright elegantly structured palate delivers juicy wild cherry, crushed raspberry, white pepper and a hint of black tea framed in polished tannins and fresh acidity. It’s already tempting but the best is yet to come. Drink 2021-2031.

VIN94+ Dark red. Musky nuances give way to brighter red fruit, licorice and herbal aromas. Rich and dense, with flavors of red cherry and minerals lifted by hints of orange peel and bergamot, not to mention noteworthy but harmonious acidity. Finishes long with youthfully chewy tannins and lingering hints of violet. This strikes me as a slightly readier to drink version of Brunello Riserva from Biondi-Santi, but as always, it improves greatly with aeration so decant at least six hours ahead for maximum enjoyment.

DEC94 Biondi Santi decided to keep both the 2013 Brunello and 2012 Riserva an additional year in bottle before release. Therefore, the current releases are the 2012 Brunello and the 2011 Riserva. The latter is only made in exceptional years, produced from the estate’s BBS11 (Brunello Biondi Santi, vine 11) clone, a selection Franco Biondi Santi started in 1970. These vines are at least 25 years old. The wine is fermented in wood and aged in Slavonian oak casks. The warm vintage gives this wine a precocious character and a charming richness of fruit. Aromas of exotic black tea, new furniture polish and macerated cherries make way for ethereal nuances of lavender, orange blossom and rosehip. Acidity lends buoyancy, and the authoritative tannins are finely sculpted.. All the elements are in balance, and while it will surely last a couple of decades, it is almost impossible to resist now.