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Conti Costanti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino

£72.00

In stock

SKU

ITTURCOBM16B-1

Buy 6 for £68.40 each and save 5%

The Costanti family has owned this 10 hectare estate for over 200 years. Andrea Costanti inherited it from his uncle in the mid-1980s, and has worked hard to take it to its current positon as one of the very best in Montalcino. The style is characterised by a striking elegance and intensity, combining the power of Montalcino with the elegance that comes from vineyards situated at a high altitude in the northern part of the zone. The vineyards are planted over 400 metres above sea level, on galestro soil that is typical of the area.

"Lustrous mid ruby. Complex brooding richness on the nose. Fantastic balance between the intense fruit and succulent acidity. Super-fine tannins layering the fruit. Very long, focused, intense and energetic on the finish. Monumental." 18.5 Points, Walter Speller, Jancisrobinson.com

"The Conti Costanti 2016 Brunello di Montalcino shows warm fruit layering with cherry, wild raspberry and plum. You might also notice some touches of sweetness with candied orange skin and lavender honey. At the back of it all, you get tilled earth and a touch of black olive. This wine reveals good complexity to the bouquet and follows up with a streamlined, mid-weight mouthfeel. I found this vintage to be shorter compared to the 2015 edition tasted earlier in the year." Monica Larner, Robertparker.com, 94 Pts

The Wine Region

Tuscany

Tuscany is the region of Italy that most fine wine drinkers gravitate towards.

It occupies much of Central Italy with a Tyrrhenian coast to the west and the Apennines to the east, it has both Mediterranean and continental climates.

The story of Tuscany begins with its major black variety, Sangiovese, one of the most planted varieties in Italy, but here is its ancestral and spiritual home. Sangiovese makes up the majority of the blend of Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and various other DOC/Gs and 100% of Brunello & Rosso di Montalcino.

Chianti Classico is the region between Florence and Siena and has been systematically polluted with foreign varieties such as Cabernet, Syrah and, God forbid, Merlot.

Now, we are seeing a return to more traditional blends as producers are gradually moving away from the Super Tuscan movement of the 1980s & 1990s.

In Montalcino, where only Sangiovese is permitted, producers have also shunned the illicit use of foreign varieties and the wines have never been better because of it. Helped out by a good run of vintages, as well.

Elsewhere, there are still gems to be discovered. San Gimignano is home to the only major DOCG for white wines, yet its planting of its traditional variety, Vernaccia di San Gimignano are on the wane, but not at Castello di Montaùto who still champion this variety.

The Tuscan Coast is still the hotbed for innovation, unlike other bits of Tuscany it is the international varieties that thrive and make the best wines, with the occasional exception

The Sub-Region

Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino vies with Barolo and Barbaresco as Italy’s greatest wine producing zone. Montalcino is a viticultural zone which surrounds the mediaeval hilltop town of Montalcino itself. There are a few styles of wine produced here, but it is for the Brunello that fine wine drinkers all over the world beat a path to. Rosso di Montalcino is its sibling which is also made from 100% Sangiovese (locally known as Brunello), but released a little earlier than the mandatory 5 years following harvest date for Brunello itself.