The Biondi-Santi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino brings us to a new chapter in the estate's history. This is the first vintage made entirely by the new team (under CEO Giampiero Bertolini and Technical Director Federico Radi) following the 2016 acquisition of Biondi-Santi by the Paris-based EPI holding company. It is no doubt an exciting vintage for them, and it also benefitted from renewed oak casks and other important investments. (To date, about half the old wood has been replaced, and they continue to buy 5% to 10% new casks each year going forward.) The 2018 vintage saw above average rain and cooler conditions that led to slow-ripening. The wine is open-knit in texture and a little leaner in consistency, but it shows fresh acidity and pretty notes of violet, wild cherry and blood orange.

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino is gorgeous, floral and finessed, wafting up with a classic Sangiovese profile blending dried rose and black cherries, complicated by dusty earth, worn leather and hints of cedar spice. This shows a beautiful ripeness of fruit, pure and lifted yet potent, with masses of red, wild berries and inner florals that cascade across a core of zesty acidity. This finishes long and staining with regal tannins and a tart cranberry tinge that lingers on and on. Simply magnificent, the 2018 takes the perfumed character of the vintage and marries perfectly to a core of vividly intense fruit. This is entirely atypical of the vintage and the result of extreme selection that reduced production quantities by 20%.

Cool, wet year in which the highest vineyards struggled to reach 12% potential alcohol. Stringent selection was needed. Vinified in a mix of fermenters in terms of both size and material. Transparent garnet. Very richly autumnal on the nose – quite a cocktail of aromas! Appetising with that slightly agricultural perfume of Sangiovese. Very marked acidity on the palate at this early stage. Not nearly ready. It will need years for the fruit to build in bottle and distract from the early acidity. Very clean, refreshing finish. (JR)