2017 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino

The noble Costanti family is one of the oldest families of Montalcino. The current Conte, Andrea, is a geologist and has been at the helm of the winery since 1983. He knows his trade: the small domain is highly praised among connoisseurs. The wine estate is two kilometers east of Montalcino and the bottom is the famous Tuscan Galestro. The vineyards are high for Brunello: between 330 and 440 meters. The highest vineyards were seen in the 1990s as the absolute limit for the ripening of Sangiovese, but now, with climate change, people think differently. Costanti now benefits from precisely this height: the wines are fresher and more delicate than average. Andrea believes in a special system of maturation. After fermentation in stainless steel, all wine goes for 14 to 21 days in 500 liter barrels, of which a maximum of 20% is new. After a year, the Rosso goes into the bottle. The rest matures 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 ripen for another year as Brunello. After these three years of maturation, it is determined whether Riserva is made and, if so, which barrels qualify. These are the ones with the highest acidity and firmest tannins, which qualify for a long bottle aging. The Riserva then matures for at least two years in the bottle, the Brunello one year. Incidentally, 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 of Vinous gave away 98 points for his assessment of almost 200 Brunelli: to the Riserva by Costanti! The 'normal' Brunello received 96 points from him and is therefore also in the top ten. There is only one drawback 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 rim. In addition to ripe, primary fruit (amarene cherries, sweet blueberries), complex oak-influenced aromas (vanilla, cloves, toast) and sultry developmental aromas (caramel, coffee), there are also tertiary aromas of tobacco, leather and 'wild' to discover. These complex aromas are also reflected in the taste, supported by a ripe structure with a lot of concentration. Beautiful acids and ripe tannins are the building blocks that guarantee this wine a long future.