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WINE NEWS /
Biondi Santi: the Gentleman of Montalcino
Franco Biondi Santi "is a philosopher of wine,
a great dreamer, and—above all—an exceptional agronomist
and enologist," says Pino Khail in a recently published biography
of the winemaker Franco Biondi Santi: the Gentleman of Brunello,
by American wine writer Kerin O'Keefe (Veronelli Editore, 2005).
As she chronicles his life and the many significant
changes in the industry Dr. Biondi
Santi has witnessed over the course of his career, Kerin O'Keefe
focuses on his quest to save Brunello
di Montalcino from "internationalization" and the modern
style of winemaking adopted today by many producers in Toscana.
The book launch was celebrated in New York with a
vertical tasting of Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino 2000, 1999,
Riserva 1999, 1998, Riserva 1998, Riserva 1997, Riserva 1983, and
Riserva 1955. Dr. Biondi Santi led the guided tasting himself: like
an old bottle of Brunello, his presence was testament to the value
of consistent quality and an overarching philosophy in winemaking.
By resisting the international style embraced by some of his peers
and standing by a generations-old tradition in grape growing and vinification,
Dr. Biondi Santi has helped to support and maintain the market for
traditional-styled Brunello di Montalcino. As a result, younger winemakers
are not forced to abandon the old style and consumers continue to
have a "reference point" wine that allows them to understand
the true greatness of Brunello di Montalcino.
Biondi Santi was the first estate to bottle Brunello
in the late 19th century and was a founding member of the Consortium
of Brunello di Montalcino. Dr. Franco Biondi Santi is the grandson
of Ferruccio, who created the appellation when he observed how the
Brunello or Sangiovese Grosso grape showed so well in the Montalcino
macroclimate. Because Montalcino is protected from bad weather by
Mt. Amiata and blessed by a dry breeze from the Tyrrhenian Sea, the
grapes can ripen to perfection and are rarely damaged by botrytis
and grey rot.
Related Wines and Links: Altesino,
Antinori, Argiano,
Biondi-Santi, Camigliano,
Casanova di Neri,
Castello Banfi, Cerbaiona,
Ciacci Piccolomini,
Col d'Orcia, Costanti,
Donatella
Cinelli Colombini, Fattoria
dei Barbi, Il Palazzone,
La Poderina, La
Rasina, Lisini, Marchesi
de' Frescobaldi, Mastrojanni,
Pieve Santa
Restituta, Poggio
Antico, Poggio
di Sotto, San Felice,
Angelo Sassetti -
Pertimali, Sassetti
Livio Pertimali, Solaria,
Soldera, Talenti,
Tenuta Caparzo, Tenuta
la Fuga, Uccelliera,
Valdicava.
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