Biondi Santi Dinner with Federico Radi
Earlier this week, we hosted another of our Estate Night dinners, and we were delighted to be joined by Federico Radi, winemaker at one of our favourite Italian estates: Biondi Santi.
Upon Arrival…
As our guests filed into the private dining room at the institution that is Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill off Piccadilly, glasses were filled with 2012 Rare Champagne – an exceptional start to the evening that certainly set the bar high. Our Sales Director, James Colacicchi, then introduced us all to winemaker Federico Radi, who, alongside the wines, was the headliner for this Estate Nights event. Having just finished the 2025 harvest at Biondi Santi, we were delighted that Federico could join us for an evening in celebration of this incredible estate.
Biondi Santi is the undisputed founding estate of Brunello di Montalcino. The late Franco Biondi Santi once explained how his grandfather was creating 100% Sangiovese wines “a century before it was an accepted practice in other parts of Tuscany”, giving Biondi Santi’s wines a true sense of place and sense of time. Their first vintage was in 1888 – of which there are only two remaining bottles in the family cellar. The family’s vision for the potential of Sangiovese has been crucial in shaping the estate in addition to the wider Brunello di Montalcino DOCG area. Whilst there is a lot of Sangiovese grown all over Italy, the grape is only able to produce truly special wines in a certain number of places with the ideal growing conditions. Biondi Santi therefore plants their vines on the North-East facing slopes of the Montalcino hill, up to 600m above sea level. The aim? To preserve the simple, but essential, characteristic of freshness.
In Federico’s words, Biondi Santi is not a winemaker’s wine. This became apparent when he joined the estate in 2017, alongside CEO Giampiero Bertolini (previously of the Frescobaldi Group), with the decision that all ego must be set aside, and the preservation of Biondi Santi’s philosophy must be at the fore.
“Evolution and not revolution.”
Giampiero Bertolini’s approach to upholding the legacy of Biondi-Santi.
As our first course of Irish Hereford prime beef tartare was served, we swirled the current release 2019 Brunello di Montalcino in our glasses. Described as an “amazing” vintage by Federico, 2019 was beautiful in terms of weather, quantity and complexity. The wine showed classic Brunello notes of ripe, red cherries, as well as balsamic, menthol and spices with vibrant tannins. There is clearly a long life ahead for this wine, with more developed notes of flint and tobacco to come through over the next decade – and yet it was a joy to drink in its youth this evening. In agreement with Monica Larner, of The Wine Advocate, “this beautiful wine hits a special mark: it offers the ethereal qualities you expect of this celebrated estate.”
Federico emphasised the duality of Biondi Santi. You should be able to buy a bottle and it be ready to be opened and enjoyed on that day, but the wine should always have the ability to age well too. The time each wine spends ageing in large, Slavonian oak casks and the time between bottling and release is key for this.
The next wine, 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, was poured so our guests could have the two vintages side-by-side, allowing us to see, smell and taste the differences. Since Biondi Santi’s 1888 vintage, the estate has only made 42 Riserva bottlings. 2018 was the first vintage Federico fully managed, from pruning to bottling, at Biondi Santi. The challenging vintage meant he had to employ all his vineyard management skills to tackle pressures from disease. From thinning clusters to canopy management, the resulting vigour was bolstered by the Tramontana (the dry wind that blows through the vineyards in September), which helped to dry out the grapes. The following quick harvest resulted in a wine that is the perfect reflection of the vintage. Freshness abounds – which Federico noted is becoming increasingly unusual in the face of climate change. The wine is “an alive dancer” whose delicacy contrasts with the intensity of the 2019. Everything in the 2018 is nuanced and soft; dry rose, sweet tobacco and notes of autumn, pairing perfectly with our main course of roast venison loin. As James Suckling notes, the 2018 Riserva is “very Biondi-Santi in its nature”.
“Radi is committed to taking this estate into the future while retaining the DNA of Biondi-Santi.”
Jeb Dunnuck
As is tradition, Biondi Santi only makes their Riserva wines in outstanding vintages, from vines over 25 years old. We were therefore delighted to have the opportunity to taste three of the 42 Riserva vintages with our clients during this event. Following the 2018, we jumped back in time thanks to the Biondi Santi family’s “La Storica”: the estate wine library that’s as secure as a bank vault, where naked Riserva bottles are stacked in small cells, divided by vintage, and topped with a drop of bees wax to seal the cork and minimise oxidation. Up first, with our delicious cheese platters, was the 1999 Riserva. Described in Decanter as “a standard-bearer” of Biondi Santi, Federico regaled us with Franco Biondi Santi’s account of the vintage; very balanced with a dry, hot August that resulted in a quick harvest (15th September – 26th September). The grapes were ripe and dense, with thick skins, resulting in a wine with rustic and austere tannins that have given this wine huge ageing potential. The wine was very fresh and vertical, and an exceptional vintage to taste alongside the other Riserva: 1988.
The centenary bottle from Biondi Santi’s first vintage in 1888, the 1988 was more delicate and balanced than the ’99 due to the increased rain during the year. Whilst it is 11 years older, the 1988 showed incredible structure and texture, in a more refined and subtle way than the 1999. Eric Guido wrote that the ’88 is “a stellar La Storica release that should not be missed”, and we feel very privileged to have been able to share this vinous experience with Federico and our guests. As Federico declared, it was “the perfect day to drink 1988”!
Being able to taste the older vintages side by side with some newer releases confirmed how Biondi Santi has remained steadfast in its approach to winemaking and producing some of the greatest Brunello di Montalcino to be found.
“When all is said and done, this team is very different from what you’d expect from the Biondi-Santi of old, yet what they’re doing with this historic estate has me very excited about the future.”
Eric Guido, Vinous
More on Biondi Santi
Biondi Santi has been producing wine in Brunello di Montalcino since the 19th Century and is today one of the foremost producers in the region. It is thanks to Clemente Santi’s studies and work on agriculture and science that he became the first person in the region to create red wines that were suitable for ageing. The famed Greppo vineyards, where Clemente started his wine project, have been passed down through the generations, most notably to Ferruccio Biondi Santi, who is credited with having ‘invented’ Brunello, and the late Franco Biondi Santi, who worked tirelessly at the estate and established their reputation as one of Tuscany’s greatest estates…