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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
Biondi-Santi also thinks that Brunello is one of the world’s longest-lasting wines:
“Even though Italian wine legislation requires that Brunello be matured in barrels for two years and in bottles for four to six months, we allow our wine to age for five to six years before bottling. We traditionally use Slovenian barrels, which further enhance the longevity of the wine. Then we cellar the Brunello in bottles for at least another two years before bringing them to market. Indeed, I doubt very much that, even after all this, the Riserva would be at all drinkable for at least another ten years, because it thrives on its magnificent reputation for longevity. A majority of our wines are sold in Italy, as they become extremely expensive once exported. In the price competition with top French wines, they invariably come in second place."
Biondi-Santi’s annual production volume is approximately 80,000 bottles, which are produced exclusively from the estate’s vineyards: 60,000 bottles of Brunello Annata and, in exceptionally good years, approximately 6,000 bottles of Riserva. The Brunello Annata is a direct descendant of the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva and is also produced during years which enjoy good, but not extraordinary, weather conditions. The Rosso di Montalcino is made using the same grapes as the Bruneelo, but is sold without going through the same ageing process as its big brothers. Despite this, the Rosso is a very highly esteemed wine in Italy, obtaining the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) classification in 1984.
Vuosikerta 2008
The season was characterized by an autumn and a winter which were not particularly cold and with little rain, conditions which favored a slightly early bud break compared to the preceding vintages. Spring, and the first vegetation, saw the appearance of adverse meteorological conditions, with frequent rainfall until the end of May which caused a slowing of plant growth, a slowing which, nonetheless, did not have harmful effects on vine health. June and July, instead, were warm and dry, while in August there was scattered rainfall which helped the vines to sustain regular growth of both the vegetation and the grapes.
The months of September and October were very favorable for harvest operations, thanks as well to temperature swings from daytime heat to nighttime coolness, optimal conditions for grape quality. Sangiovese was picked during the last ten days of September, while Cabernet continued to be harvested until the middle of October. From the very beginning of the harvest the musts showed very interesting colors and aromas, which indicated that the vintage was of very high level indeed.