1955 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

This is the second time I have been before Biondi-Santi's historic 1955 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. I remember feeling the floor quiver under my feet the first time I tasted this wine about ten years ago. This second tasting was decisively less earth-shattering. Although I had sourced the bottle directly from the historic cellars at Il Greppo, and the utmost care was given to the wine in terms of transportation and service, this bottle was less vibrant and expressive than the previous sample etched in my memory. The wine shows a browning garnet color that is luminous and translucent. The bouquet is ethereal and fluid with delicate tones of dried fruit, licorice, tar, mint and dried cigar tobacco. The mouthfeel is enormously long and silky. This Riserva shows all the hallmark elements of pedigree Biondi-Santi, but the overall intensity was a notch or two lower than I expected. Bottle variation is a big concern with a wine that has existed for some sixty years. This bottle was reconditioned twice in the past. It is impossible to assign a drinking window to a wine like this. I indicated ten years, but the wine should hold longer, depending on the bottle and whether or not it sees another re-corking and reconditioning soon. Jacopo Biondi Santi indicated that it would.