Conti Costanti
DOCG
Brunello di Montalcino
2016

The producer

Costanti, one of the finest estates in Montalcino, is renowned for producing high-quality Brunellos that are elegant, complex, and exceptionally long-lived. The estate, situated in Colle al Matrieche in the eastern zone of the Montalcino district, is managed by Andrea Costanti in collaboration with consultant oenologist Vittorio Fiore. Its 7 hectares of vineyards are located on a high ridge, 400 meters above sea level. During harvest, Costanti employs a rigorous selection process to ensure only the finest fruit is used. His Brunellos are typically dense and fairly impenetrable in their youth, requiring bottle aging to reach their full potential. When mature, they are among the richest and most harmonious wines in the district, displaying copious amounts of dark cherry and blackberry fruit, supported by svelte and elegant tannins.

The wine

Conti Costanti’s history is closely woven into that of Brunello itself, with Tito Costanti among the first to present a wine under the name in 1865. Made entirely from Sangiovese grown on the estate’s hillside vineyards, this Brunello combines the depth and structure associated with Montalcino with the fragrance and freshness that define the Costanti style.

Morello cherry and red berry fruit sit alongside warm spice, savoury notes and a touch of liquorice. There is concentration here, balanced by lively acidity and finely textured tannins, giving the wine both elegance and length. These are Brunellos that reward patience, developing greater complexity and a softer texture with time in the cellar.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.