The 1983 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva La Storica is spellbinding, with an eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head display of crushed rocks, dried cherries and plums, complemented by notes of mint, cedar spice box and autumn leaves. You could lose yourself in the bouquet, but then you’d miss the elegant textures and how they wash across the palate, carrying zesty red fruits motivated by earthy mineral tones and bright acidity that keeps the expression remarkably fresh. Frankly, it’s amazing to think that this is a 38-year-old Brunello, as the 1983 finishes remarkably long and with the slightest hint of tannins still remaining, and nuances of clove, balsam herbs and rosy florals lingering on. Bravo. La Storica is a library-release program direct from the winery, with a sticker on the back and a numbered tag around the neck of the bottle to identify it as such. This is a bottling that was reconditioned by Franco Biondi Santi himself in the year 2000. Only 550 bottles were rereleased. It’s also important to note that this was the first vintage that the Riserva was made in the then-new winery and fermented in large, vertical oak vats, as opposed to concrete. It’s a gorgeous expression of time and place. EG Dec 2021

The Brunello was fresh and firm with powerful aromas and flavors of blueberries and mushrooms. It had a tanned leather undertone. It was very tannic yet fresh and beautiful. It was very silky. June 2016

Deep red with barely a thin garnet rim: you can tell this bottle (recorked in 2000) was well-cellared. The nose is very deep and multilayered with aromas of ripe but fresh red cherry, sweet spices, aromatic herbs and sandalwood on the nose; this nose is remarkably like that of some old Soldera bottlings I know well, but even more elegant than those wines. Big and full-bodied but also round and mellow on entry, then more austere and steely in the middle, but with the creaminess of the noble tannins that never leaves the scene providing support to the floral, licorice, and balsamic red and dark berry and plum flavours. Remarkably juicy and fruity at 40 years of age, this marvelously intense, concentrated and well-balanced wine is drinking beautifully and is a super-successful Riserva. It exemplifies extremely well why Biondi-Santi Riserva Brunellos fetch the high prices they do: with a wine as good and memorable this one, you won’t regret a single penny. Drinking window: 2023-2040. Ian D'Agata Terroirsense.com 'Wine of the Week' Aug 2023

This precious bottle is part of Biondi-Santi's late-release program for collectors (I tasted bottle number 10,723). The 1983 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is showing beautifully on its aging timeline, although this bottle is slightly more evolved since I last tasted this vintage in 2019 before the pandemic. With slow and measured determination, the bouquet embraces dried fig, cured bresaola, burnt caramel, wet campfire, dried oregano and a familiar aroma that reminds me of the Florence leather market. However, there is a lot of life and vertical lift in this Riserva, thanks in great part to the beautiful freshness that keeps the tannins alive and adds a pop of pretty acidity to the close. The wine shows its age with pride and grace, and the final results are quite spectacular. In fact, I'm opening the drinking window up by an additional five years thanks to the latitude and depth shown here. ML July 2021

1983 was the year of the retirement of Bjorn Borg after winning Wimbledon five times; and the general election in the UK confirmed the majority of the conservatives of Margaret Thatcher. In this year in Montalcino, Franco Biondi-Santi changed his old oak vessels, producing a classical gem of modern oenology. Today, the wine is refilled and certified to be released in 2021. The vintage was classic, more cool than generous. The crystalline ruby-garnet colour is resonating out of the glass with rhubarb candy, fresh violet, juniper berry and potpourri. The attack is still firm and zesty, with a delicately sour strawberry flavour and fierce chalky tannins, thick on the finish. Balanced in an austere way, it's like driving a classic car: it needs time, expertise and passion! Drinking Window: 2021 - 2033
Tasted by: Aldo Fiordelli (at Monza, Italy, 13 Dec 2021)
Part of Biondi Santi: producer profile & Riserva vertical

Day one: Lustrous mature ruby with brickstone rim. At first the mature Biondi-Santi wines always show a little oxidative character with hints of tobacco and dried fruit on the nose right after opening, which can set you completely on the wrong foot. With aeration that oxidative mist lifts to show a core of balsamic cherry fruit with the merest hint of chalky minerally notes. Depth and complexity but really shy. Racy and at the same time waxy layered red fruit with gorgeous powdery tannins. Very deep and long yet still not showing it all. A long nerve of acidity runs all the way through.
Day two: Mature ruby with bright brickstone rim. A complex, sweetly perfumed nose of dried cherry, iron, sweet spice and with hints of black pepper. The spectrum of aromas is a little oxidative, but it hasn't progressed much since yesterday. The more you swirl, the purer the nose becomes. Deep cherry fruit. Gorgeous sappy elegant and lively cherry fruit palate, truly light of touch, transparent iron and sour-cherry finish of great elegance. Framed by long, gripping powdery tannins. Perhaps a tad less persistent than yesterday, but more multi-layered on the finish.
Day three: Mature mid ruby with bright bricky rim. Firm cherry and fruit-cake nose of great depth. A little more oxidative but not deteriorated at all, though I can imagine this is not to everyone’s taste. Racy sappy fruit that has lost a little of its length and persistence, yet still manages to balance out the gripping powdery tannins. The acidity has become more marked on the finish. Still compelling, but was more complete the day before. (WS)
Tasted April 2021