Without a doubt, Biondi Santi and Soldera are considered the very best of Brunello. For wine collectors and connoisseurs, it’s an incredibly engaging topic to pry into exactly how these two legendary producers differ from each other. Here’s a little overview from our team to help you better understand these two great tenutas of Italy.

1. History
As a fact, Biondi Santi comes with a much longer history than Soldera. Biondi Santi’s history goes all the way back to 1865 when Clemente Santi started experimenting with Sangiovese at Il Greppo, his Tuscan estate, using barrels and careful selection to make wines suitable for ageing. The history of the Soldera Case Basse winery began in the early 1970s. Gianfranco and Graziella Soldera nurtured a project to produce a high-quality natural wine and knew they could only achieve this if they found a terroir with certain essential features.

2. Terroir
Biondi Santi’s vineyards aggregate around the central, higher-altitude plateau of Brunello di Montalcino; whilst those of Soldera lies more southerly and at lower altitudes. This in general explains why Biondi Santi’s fruit tends to show a natural leanness framed by marked acidity contributed by larger diurnal temperature range. On the other hand, Soldera often delivers plush, exuberant, fruit, shaped and benefitted from the additional warmth the estate enjoys in Brunello’s southerly locations.

3. Winemaking
Biondi Santi’s winemaking is textbook-styled traditionalist, whilst Soldera’s winemaking leans towards natural and minimalist, not in an avant-garde fashion, rather, the philosophy resembles ancestral methods. On harvest, Biondi Santi generally harvests one week earlier than neighbours as they stress on preserving acidity. On the other hand, Soldera’s southerly location is advantageous towards harvesting at optimal or full ripeness. As a result, Soldera’s fruit tends to highlight ripe sweetness over freshness.

4. Resulting styles
Biondi Santi makes Brunellos of great class and consistency, whilst Soldera shapes attractive, alluring Brunellos that impress with seductive, juicy core of fruit. If we are to fit them within the context of fine Bordeaux, Biondi Santi would be Chateau Lafite as Soldera would resemble Mouton Rothschild stylistically speaking.