2018 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino

The noble Costanti family is one of the oldest families in Montalcino. The current Conte, Andrea, is a geologist and has been at the helm of the wine company since 1983. He knows his trade: the small domain is highly praised among experts. The wine estate is located two kilometers east of Montalcino and the soil is the famous Tuscan Galestro. The vineyards are high for Brunello: between 330 and 440 meters. In the 1990s, the highest vineyards were seen as the absolute limit for ripening Sangiovese, but now, with climate change, people think differently about this. Costanti benefits from that altitude: the wines are fresher and more delicate than average.

Andrea believes in a special system of maturation. After fermentation in stainless steel, all wine is stored in 500 liter barrels for 14 to 21 days, of which a maximum of 20% is new. After a year the Rosso goes into the bottle. The rest continues to mature in Slovenian oak barrels of an average of 3,000 liters. After another year, it is determined what the special Rosso (Vermiglio) is made of and it is then bottled. The rest continues to mature for another year as Brunello. After these three years of maturation, it is determined whether Riserva is made and, if so, which barrels are suitable for this. These are the ones with the highest acidity and firmest tannins, which are suitable for long bottle aging. The Riserva then matures in the bottle for at least two years, the Brunello for one year. By the way, this ingenious system lies between 'cuvée selection' and 'vineyard selection': the barrels are selected per vineyard and usually the same pieces of vineyard end up in the same wine. In 2018, Ian d'Agata from Vinous gave away 98 points in his assessment of almost 200 Brunellis: to the Riserva from Costanti! The 'normal' Brunello received 96 points from him and is therefore also in the top ten. There is only one disadvantage to Costanti: the Brunello, especially the Riserva, needs time to mature to fully blossom!

The Costanti Brunello di Montalcino is a Classic Brunello from a top producer. In the glass it has a deep ruby red color with an orange-brown edge. In addition to ripe, primary fruit (amarene cherries, sweet blueberries), complex aromas of oak influence (vanilla, cloves, toast) and sultry developing aromas (caramel, coffee), tertiary aromas of tobacco, leather and 'wild' can also be discovered. These complex aromas are also reflected in the taste, supported by a ripe structure with a lot of concentration. Beautiful acidity and ripe tannins form the building blocks that guarantee this wine a long future.