Biondi-Santi’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1985, released under the commemorative “La Storica” designation, is a mature, long-aged expression of Sangiovese Grosso from Tenuta Il Greppo. This Riserva sits at the traditional, historically important end of Brunello: it is produced only in top years and is built for extended ageing, with time in large Slavonian oak casks and long bottle development before release. The 1985 vintage itself was marked by extremes in Tuscany—“a particularly hard winter and very hot summer,” as **Decanter** notes—yet the wine’s defining theme in review is not heat or heaviness, but sustained freshness and structure.

This is an *excellent* critical showing. **Decanter’s 99-point** review is emphatic in its assessment of both vitality and longevity, calling the wine “**celebrated, elegant and ageworthy**” and concluding that it remains “**an extremely youthful wine with further potential for ageing**.” The reviewer highlights an important provenance detail for older bottles: “**The bottle was topped up twice; in 2000 and in 2010**,” a sign of careful cellar stewardship that can matter greatly at this age.

In the glass, Decanter describes a wine that presents as surprisingly fruit-driven for its years, with “**an extremely youthful fruit character**” supported by “**great concentration**” and notable evolution over the course of a pour: “**the wine changes a lot in the glass**.” Aromatically, the profile is expansive and savory, “**built on dried prunes, Mediterranean herbs and tobacco**,” then widening into “**truffle, cinnamon, potpourri, cedar wood and earthy tones**.” On the palate, the same savory register carries through, with “**zesty acidity**” and “**powdery… tannins**,” finishing with “**big shoulders and fierce tension**.” Overall, it reads as a fully mature Brunello that still prioritizes lift, definition, and endurance over sheer sweetness or softness.