Biondi-Santi Launches Special Edition Riserva 2012

Biondi-Santi Pays Homage to the Life and Achievements of Franco Biondi Santi

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Mar 03, 2020, 09:15 ET

NEW YORK, March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fine wine importer Wilson Daniels has announced the launch of Italian luxury brand Biondi-Santi's special edition Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2012. The last vintage produced during the remarkable career of Franco Biondi Santi, this unique bottling is dedicated to the legendary winemaker and longtime champion of Italy's global reputation for the advancement of modern viticulture.

Franco started working alongside his father Tancredi after World War II, having helped him to build a wall in front of the Riserva cellar to protect the bottles from Nazi soldiers in Montalcino. He became the sole winemaker at Tenuta Greppo following his father's passing in 1970, and served diligently as its guardian of excellence and distinction for more than four decades, identifying the estate's own Sangiovese Grosso clone — Brunello Biondi-Santi 11 — and naming it for his family. During Franco's tenure, he gained immense respect, both in the producer community and among trade professionals and consumers, for maintaining a style of wine that was true to the vision of Brunello di Montalcino that his ancesters pioneered and that is now considered one of the greatest wines in the world.

His grandson Tancredi, the seventh generation of the Biondi Santi family and named for Franco's father, comments, "Experience, to acquire by living and observing the nuances of the vineyards day by day; Specific knowhow, to be able to face all challenges in producing a wine with a distinctive style; Lots of patience, because it is nature which sets the pace for all that we do. These are the principle things that my grandfather taught me to be necessary to produce a wine like Brunello Riserva."

Giampiero Bertolini, CEO of Biondi-Santi, continues, "We waited one more year to release the Riserva 2012 to ensure a perfect balance because the presentation of this wine is special to us. For his lifelong commitment to maintaining the excellence and unique style of our Brunello and for his fierce defense of the territory of Montalcino, Franco has played an important role in the history of Biondi-Santi. His is the hand behind 24 of the only 39 Riserva ever produced at Biondi-Santi, and we are immensely proud to dedicate the Riserva 2012 to his life's achievements."

The Riserva 2012 was produced with a selection of grapes from the oldest estate vineyards. It was fermented in oak casks using indigenous yeasts, then aged 36 months in traditional Slavonian oak barrels. Neither modern nor ancient, it is a wine in which the 150-year legacy of Tenuta Greppo shines through with a distinctive expression of vibrant freshness and an austere, elegant structure which softens with bottle age.

"To be able to launch this vintage is an honor," says Wilson Daniels President Rocco Lombardo. "This unique bottling is a testament to Italian artisanal excellency, and speaks both of the past, honoring one of the greatest Tuscan winemakers of the 20^th century, and of the future, as a true representative of the legendary Biondi-Santi longevity. For me, it represents the very essence of our passion for sharing the most outstanding bottles in the world."

Retailing at $690, the Riserva is Biondi-Santi's crown jewel. Produced only in the most excellent vintages (just 39 times since 1888), it is the true exception - a wine for collectors and high-end wine lovers that encapsulates Franco Biondi Santi's outstanding achievements in agriculture and oenology.

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About Wilson Daniels
Founded in 1978, Wilson Daniels is a fully integrated, family-owned marketing and sales company representing a highly selective portfolio of the world's most distinctive wines. Wilson Daniels continues to pursue and elevate the standards of excellence set by founders Win Wilson and Jack Daniels through developing long-term, strategic partnerships with luxury producers that possess profound respect for terroir, and are benchmarks in their region. To learn more about Wilson Daniels, visit www.wilsondaniels.com.

Press Contact:
Alexandra Schrecengost
AVP, Public Relations, Wilson Daniels
[email protected]

SOURCE Wilson Daniels