96 points Susan Hulme MW TWI “The 2017 Biondi Santi Brunello has a lightly fragrant oak nose with notes of cream and vanilla and cherry. The weight is beautifully ethereal with a little of that weightless quality that you find in very fine wines. The tannins have a slight grippy dryness but it is not excessive and there is a green sharpness to the cherry flavors that linger on the palate. It has lots of finesse and flow and a fine texture. For this wine the new team from EPI were involved a little with the vineyard but 2018 will be the first vintage they made completely from start to finish. Biondi Santi have not yet released their 2018 Brunello so when it is released it will more accurately reflect their ideas and style but with this 2017 they have already delivered a beauty.”
The Brunello di Montalcino Annata 2017 is the first Brunello released that has been made entirely by the new winemaking team.
The 2017 vintage can be characterised by the absence of rain overall. The Spring saw a light frost and some rain. The weather remained mild until the end of May which saw a significant rise in temperatures, above the season average. The summer was warm and dry. Harvest began on 11th September 2017.
The 2017 Brunello Annata is vinified in concrete eggs with indigenous yeasts. The wine was aged for three years in Slavonian oak barrels.
