Sangiovese study, Volume II (Chicago, IL): Served blind in a flight of Biondi-Santi. This seemed to be the victim of poor storage -- muddled and brown, with some soy notes as well. Some modest herbal tones on the nose.
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Cork was saturated in the bottom 1/3 but still came out in one piece. Color was candy apple red with a nice dark core. Pretty nose of raspberry liqueur, rose petals, and mushrooms. Medium- to light-body on the palate with flavors that resembled dried fruit, dried herbs, and a sip of cranberry juice. Drinks best with food.
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Brought to a friend's house for a small gathering. This wine followed a '97 Lignier. Cork was in great shape. Pop and poured but allowed a bit of time in the glass. Color was what I expected - bricking on the edges but mostly a candy apple. Nose was very shy. Had to swirl that glass a few times to get a dark cherry liqueur, dried red fruit. Palate was fairly straightforward - more savory like jerky, dried oregano, with a bit of red fruit acidity. Bottle was an auction purchase last month.
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Followed in the decanter for over 8 hours, this went through a number of phases. At first, this showed faded red cherry, cardamom, old leather, and a meaty umami note. After 2 hours in the decanter, became much more youthful, developing black cherry, cola, and mint aromas; the leather and cured meat becomes more pronounced - it shows a little like you might expect from Sangiovese. From hour 3-4, there's a slow slide back to where it started. 93ish at peak.
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Dinner at Binomio. Tasted it alongside 1981 Vega Sicilia Unico and a 1995 Lopez Heredia Vina Bosconia. Each wine was distinctive in its own right.
This wine has shed its youthfulness and is now a serious wine that demands your attention. Completely the opposite of the 95 Vina Bosconia which was so fresh, aromatic and approachable.
Most of the fruit has gone, leaving behind the secondary flavours. So leather, mushroom, herbal notes are prominent.
I like it even though i would have welcome more precision. Not a wine for everyone i think.
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Lifted, open-knit nose of sweet cherry, leather, and mushroom. There's just a hint of Brett here, but it is nicely integrated and adds more than it detracts from the wine's character. Resolved tannins. This may not be the freshest example of the 1993, but at least this bottle is well into its peak and should be drunk over the next few years. (Bottle 02353)
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The cork split and disintegrated on opening, the wine is still in great condition. Clearly some age colour wise with bricking a good cm in from the rim. A lovely lifted nose of leather and cherry. The palate is elegant and has good acidity, miles away from the big boned brunello stereotype, some tannin on first opening but it was best after being gently decanted for an hour or more, a fair bit of life left here.
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1993 was a good, but not great, vintage, and as one would expect, Biondi-Santi made a fantastic wine that is harmonious, structured, balanced, elegant and ready to drink 22 years later. This wine is all about graceful acidity and structure. You won't find the pervasive fruitiness in this wine that characterises the Greppo wines from riper vintages, but the harmonious, almost Burgundian character of this wine from a lesser vintage is nonetheless quite impressive. Mature, tannins are resolved and integrated. A perfect expression of the Greppo terroir. Drink now.
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First impressions aren't very positive, the first couple of sips were rather thin and tart but with a lot of air this really fleshes out and opens aromatically. It develops an amazing fragrance with air, with layers of red fruits, earth, forestal/herbal notes and dried floral notes coming together seamlessly on the nose and palate, and there's a remarkable sense of polish and finesse to the texture.
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A great Biondi-Santi, and as close in character and quality to the Riserva as I've ever experienced from an Annata. Opened eight hours in advance per Franco Biondi-Santi's recommended operating procedure, during which time the aromas seemed to get more intense and savory. When we finally get to drinking it it's an instant knockout. The tannins appear mostly resolved so you get suave fruit material that's slender in texture but still bold in intensity - even coming close to replicating the old-vine sap of the Riserva! - with still plenty of sweetness and flesh left to it but augmented with an intense minerality reminiscent of gunmetal and rusty earth. The elegance and seamlessness make it spectacularly drinkable but as you get to the bottom of the bottle you start to notice that there is still some serious tannin buried in here under all that sap - amazing how it kept itself hidden that whole time.
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5/20/2023 - acyso wrote: flawed
Sangiovese study, Volume II (Chicago, IL): Served blind in a flight of Biondi-Santi. This seemed to be the victim of poor storage -- muddled and brown, with some soy notes as well. Some modest herbal tones on the nose.
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9/4/2020 - DoubleD1969 Likes this wine:
Cork was saturated in the bottom 1/3 but still came out in one piece. Color was candy apple red with a nice dark core. Pretty nose of raspberry liqueur, rose petals, and mushrooms. Medium- to light-body on the palate with flavors that resembled dried fruit, dried herbs, and a sip of cranberry juice. Drinks best with food.
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7/18/2020 - DoubleD1969 wrote:
Brought to a friend's house for a small gathering. This wine followed a '97 Lignier. Cork was in great shape. Pop and poured but allowed a bit of time in the glass. Color was what I expected - bricking on the edges but mostly a candy apple. Nose was very shy. Had to swirl that glass a few times to get a dark cherry liqueur, dried red fruit. Palate was fairly straightforward - more savory like jerky, dried oregano, with a bit of red fruit acidity. Bottle was an auction purchase last month.
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6/6/2019 - Drrobjo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful complex nose of red fruit and cedar. Very pretty and best of flight compared to ‘88, and ‘97
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5/12/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 93 Points
Followed in the decanter for over 8 hours, this went through a number of phases. At first, this showed faded red cherry, cardamom, old leather, and a meaty umami note. After 2 hours in the decanter, became much more youthful, developing black cherry, cola, and mint aromas; the leather and cured meat becomes more pronounced - it shows a little like you might expect from Sangiovese. From hour 3-4, there's a slow slide back to where it started. 93ish at peak.
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10/12/2018 - heymamalow wrote: 91 Points
Dinner at Binomio. Tasted it alongside 1981 Vega Sicilia Unico and a 1995 Lopez Heredia Vina Bosconia. Each wine was distinctive in its own right.
This wine has shed its youthfulness and is now a serious wine that demands your attention. Completely the opposite of the 95 Vina Bosconia which was so fresh, aromatic and approachable.
Most of the fruit has gone, leaving behind the secondary flavours. So leather, mushroom, herbal notes are prominent.
I like it even though i would have welcome more precision. Not a wine for everyone i think.
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8/4/2017 - rlove wrote: 90 Points
Lifted, open-knit nose of sweet cherry, leather, and mushroom. There's just a hint of Brett here, but it is nicely integrated and adds more than it detracts from the wine's character. Resolved tannins. This may not be the freshest example of the 1993, but at least this bottle is well into its peak and should be drunk over the next few years. (Bottle 02353)
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4/30/2017 - kingkanu wrote: 92 Points
The cork split and disintegrated on opening, the wine is still in great condition. Clearly some age colour wise with bricking a good cm in from the rim. A lovely lifted nose of leather and cherry. The palate is elegant and has good acidity, miles away from the big boned brunello stereotype, some tannin on first opening but it was best after being gently decanted for an hour or more, a fair bit of life left here.
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2/24/2015 - D. Fulton wrote: 93 Points
1993 was a good, but not great, vintage, and as one would expect, Biondi-Santi made a fantastic wine that is harmonious, structured, balanced, elegant and ready to drink 22 years later. This wine is all about graceful acidity and structure. You won't find the pervasive fruitiness in this wine that characterises the Greppo wines from riper vintages, but the harmonious, almost Burgundian character of this wine from a lesser vintage is nonetheless quite impressive. Mature, tannins are resolved and integrated. A perfect expression of the Greppo terroir. Drink now.
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8/31/2014 - Raycheng77 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Still young and healthy, well structure and balance, finish is long. Lovely one.
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8/3/2014 - Raycheng77 wrote: flawed
Too bad, the wine is cork....
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8/28/2013 - salil wrote: 93 Points
First impressions aren't very positive, the first couple of sips were rather thin and tart but with a lot of air this really fleshes out and opens aromatically. It develops an amazing fragrance with air, with layers of red fruits, earth, forestal/herbal notes and dried floral notes coming together seamlessly on the nose and palate, and there's a remarkable sense of polish and finesse to the texture.
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4/26/2012 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 98 Points
A great Biondi-Santi, and as close in character and quality to the Riserva as I've ever experienced from an Annata. Opened eight hours in advance per Franco Biondi-Santi's recommended operating procedure, during which time the aromas seemed to get more intense and savory. When we finally get to drinking it it's an instant knockout. The tannins appear mostly resolved so you get suave fruit material that's slender in texture but still bold in intensity - even coming close to replicating the old-vine sap of the Riserva! - with still plenty of sweetness and flesh left to it but augmented with an intense minerality reminiscent of gunmetal and rusty earth. The elegance and seamlessness make it spectacularly drinkable but as you get to the bottom of the bottle you start to notice that there is still some serious tannin buried in here under all that sap - amazing how it kept itself hidden that whole time.
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