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Topping off is an exclusive and valuable operation, performed at The Greppo between 1927 and 1990, only for the estate-owned bottles of Reserve Biondi Santi stored in the Estate Cellar.
“We have never found a bottle of imperfect wine!! This is because it is stored in perfect conditions.”
Since 1990, Franco Biondi Santi has decided to perform this operation also for the bottles of Brunello di Montalcino Reserve Biondi Santi owned by his clients, who must sign the “Topping Off Regulations” (the last event took place in 2008 for the following vintages: 1945, 1955, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985).
From 1990 to the present, 2,949 bottles belonging to customers were brought to be topped off: unfortunately 353 bottles were found to be defective, due to incorrect storage conditions, and therefore, declassified.
This operation is performed to check the condition of the wine, in order to extend its life for decades.
Topping off is necessary because, due to very long periods of ageing, the cork loses its elasticity and cohesion, ceasing to adhere perfectly to the glass. The level of wine in the bottle gradually diminishes, making it necessary to refill the bottle to the correct level and to replace the cork.
After the visual, olfactory and gustative inspection performed by a member of Biondi Santi family, the bottle is topped off, taking wine from a bottle of Reserve of the same vintage from the private collection of Franco Biondi Santi, stored in optimum conditions in the estate cellars. The subsequent re-corking with new Biondi Santi branded corks and the application of the capsule witness the validity of the wine, which is accompanied by the issue of a certificate. Any bottles which are found to be unsuitable are returned to their owners without being topped off, re-corked with unbranded corks and without capsule.
The current cost of this operation is established in relation to the amount of wine used to top off the bottle (averaging at 10-15 grams. The cost is € 7.92 per gram for 1945; € 6.81 for 1955; € 0.65 for 1985) and the time it takes the Cellar staff of The Greppo Estate to perform the topping off operations.
The Greppo cellar in Montalcino provides a resting place, in excellent conditions, for the centenarian bottles of Brunello Riserva Biondi Santi from 1888 and 1891, which are stored among other Vintages.
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