The “wonder” at the center of “La Voce di Biondi-Santi 2023”, with the story of Neri Marcorè

Telling the new vintages of great wine, which are already different stories every year, linking a value, a real story and a history told through the voice: this is the project “La Voce di Biondi- Santi”, edition no. 2 of the “library” of wine and stories that accompanies the release of the new vintages on the market, in this case, the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 and the Brunello di Montalcino 2017, produced in the “cradle” winery of the great Tuscan red, with the family Biondi-Santi, and today the property of the French group Epi, of the Descours family (which, in Italy, has also recently acquired Isole e Olena winery, in the Chianti Classico area, ed). The year 2023’s theme is “wonder”, which is explored in four conversations that were recorded as podcasts and feature the protagonists’ individual interpretations of what it means to feel “wonder”: For Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of Biondi-Santi, something unexpected; the familiarity between land, time and wine for Federico Radi, technical director; the hidden beauty that can be touched by hand for Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, the “kindred spirit” chosen this year by Biondi-Santi to discuss the theme of the year. While the Gianni Farinetti audiobook “Enigma in a Divine Place” is read by actor Neri Marcorè, a well-known figure in the wine industry and collaborator on this Biondi Santi project. The mystery of a special bottle being auctioned off—the legendary Biondi-Santi 1955 Riserva, the only Italian wine chosen as one of the top 12 wines of the 20th century by “The Wine Spectator”—centers on an ironic, mystery-tinged story set in Paris among surprising and historical characters. Along with the author Gianni Farinetti discussing his personal encounter with Biondi-Santi in “Of ancient wonder, adventure, and irony”, the project also includes the podcast by Giampiero Bertolini and Federico Radi dedicated to the presentation of the new vintages of Riserva, Brunello, and Rosso di Montalcino”. “We decided on “Wonder” for this edition of 2023 because it’s a topic we’ve discussed a lot in the cellar over the past year. “La Voce di Biondi-Santi is a response to the desire to share with our community of wine enthusiasts and collectors the ideas and tenets that every day direct our evolutionary path. We open a window on what happens in the company so that whoever opens a bottle of Biondi-Santi can have an even deeper understanding of the work and of the people behind the wine”, Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of Biondi-Santi, says. An edition, that of “La Voce di Biondi-Santi 2023”, under the banner of “Wonder. dedicate yourself. Letting yourself be amazed”, which accompanies the release on the market, from 1 March, of two very different vintages: one temperate and relatively rainy, the other very hot and arid, which express the Biondi-Santi style in two distinct ways, in full respect of the balance between structure and freshness which have always been the basis of the longevity inherent in Biondi-Santi’s DNA.
A classic that blends structure, finesse, and freshness in a gustatory balance that foretells a long life in the bottle is the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016, in particular. It is the result of a very regular growing season that had the ideal combination of sunshine and rain at the ideal time. With cooling rains at the end of August that favored the temperature difference between day and night, summer 2016 was hot but without extreme peaks. This prolonged the grapes’ final ripening process, enhancing the Riserva’s aromatic side and structure, says Biondi-Santi. However, it adds that “in a year marked by hot and dry weather, the Brunello di Montalcino 2017 is a wine that surprises for its fragrant expression. The altitude of the Biondi-Santi vineyards has contributed to the fruitful encounter between acidity and sweet fruit, maintaining a moderate alcohol content of 13.5% and expressing itself with fine-grained tannins, which showed their quality already during fermentation. A Brunello that accurately represents the stylistic signature of the Biondi-Santi vineyards”.