Toscana

The geological conformation of its hills and the climate of the territory make of Montalcino one of the oldest vineyard parts of Italy, with a perfect vinette vocation. The international reportarrives with the Brunello di Montalcino that, in the end of the 1800’s, was created by Ferruccio Biondi Santi which, strong in vine producing experience from the maternal grandfather, selected a particular clone of Sangiovese in his Tenuta “Greppo”. Today, the vital surface covers 19 hectors whcih produce good quality grapes. The Brunello of Montalcino is one of the most long lived wines in the world. Today Franco Biondi Santi produces 70.000 bottles of wine annually. The Brunello Biondi Santi is a wine of long aging, with passing years it evolves and forms extraordinary aromas and flavours, always with livelyness and persistence.

It was Ferruccio Biondi Santi who gave birth to a systematic and rational management of the estate “Greppo”. Very important was his decision to graft the young grapes of the farm with the clone Sangiovese grosso he himself had selected. The farm has an extension of 47 hectares of “Greppo” and 105 of “Pieri”, with 19 hectares specialised Sangiovese grosso vineyards, 12 of them are old vineyards (planted from 1930 to 1972) and 7 younger vineyards (planted in 1988/98) and 6 very young vineyards (planted in 2000/2001). All the too rich soils are excluded and only the ’galestrosi’ soils with South or West exposition are cultivated with vine. The rest is used for olive groves, grain crops and woodlands. The old vineyards are planted on 3 x 1,50 m parcels, that is 2.222 vines per hectare: the new vineyards are planted on 2,60 x 1,30 m, but 2 vines per parcel, i.e. 5.900 vines per hectare. The vine is grown in double buttressed horizontal braiting, 25/35.000 buds per hectare. Highly skilled workers perform the cultivating operations in the vineyards with great care. The two most important events are: the thinning out of the grapes before harvest – time to increase air circulation and sun exposure for the grapes and the manual selection of the grapes during the harvest, where only first quality grapes are used for Brunello production.