1983 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

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.

Released directly from the estate’s extensive library under the La Storica program, the Biondi-Santi 1983 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva offers collectors a rare opportunity to revisit the historic depth of this benchmark Montalcino estate. Produced in a limited allocation of just 300 to 400 bottles, the wine opens with mature aromas of licorice, caramel, coffee roast, dried orange peel and flinty mineral. The palate shows tension and balance, all held together by the natural freshness of the fruit, a hallmark of Biondi-Santi’s long-lived Riserva bottlings. Having tasted this wine previously in 2019 and again in 2021, it remains stable and harmonious, continuing to show compelling vitality and clarity. I have extended the drinking window accordingly.

A description of the 1983 vintage provided by the estate: ‘A temperate spring with frequent rainfalls led to an early summer, which remained dry and very hot from June to September. Harvest started approximately 10 days earlier than usual, due to the early ripening of the grapes.’ Aged in large Slavonian oak casks for three years. Waxed cork underneath foil. ‘Shipped from Tenuta Greppo on 04/2021.’ Selected from the ‘La Storica’ – the Biondi-Santi Riserva wine library at Tenuta Greppo. Bottle number 10,727. Topped up and recorked 29 December 2000. 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)