Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016 [1.5L]
(Tuscany, Italy) - [WE 99] [DM 98] [WS 97] [VM 96]
Regular price $350.00 Sale price $279.97 Save $70.03
About the Winery:
The noble Costanti family goes all the way back to the fifteenth century. One of several famous counts, Tito Costanti was a lawyer and winemaker, and was one of the very first to use the name Brunello for the celebrated Montalcino red. At present, the sole living descendant of the Sienese family, Andrea Costanti, carries the torch, strengthening the family’s reputation for making top wines with great innovation. His aim has always been to create elegant, complex and long-lasting wines that bring out the best of the terroir. Andrea achieved this by relying on his own excellent instinct for wine, and an in-depth knowledge of the terrain’s geological components. From vineyards located near the town of Montalcino, about 310 and 440 meters (1,020-1,445 feet) above sea level above sea level with southwestern exposure and galestro soil. The location, microclimate, power and intensity of Montalcino are combined with the elegance of these elevated vineyards. Fermentation takes place on the skins in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks, lasting approximately two weeks. Andrea’s Brunello ages eighteen months in Slavonian oak barrels, eighteen months in French tonneaux and at least twelve months in bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Deep ruby red with brilliant garnet reflections, the bouquet is rich, ample and intense with notes of brushwood, berries, plums, violets, spices and vanilla confirmed on the palate; wonderful elegance and balance, lush concentration, voluptuous body and silky, smooth tannins. Shows power and finesse all at once.
Food Pairing:
A wonderful accompaniment to red meat, stews, complex dishes and aged cheese.
Technical Data
Grape Varieties: 100% Sangiovese
Fermentation container: Stainless steel
Length of alcoholic fermentation: About 2 weeks
Type of yeast: Select
Fermentation temperature: 16-18 °C (60.8-64.4 °F)
Length of maceration: 14 days
Malolactic fermentation: Yes
Aging containers: Tonneaux
Container size: 900 L
Type of oak: Allier and Slavonian
Bottling period: February
Aging before bottling: 36 months
Aging in bottle: 12 months
Ratings & Reviews
99 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"This savory stunner has enticing scents of violet, rose and wild berry that gain complexity alongside notes of leather, camphor and sandalwood. The elegantly structured palate is all about precision, featuring juicy cherry, blood orange, star anise and tobacco framed in taut, refined tannins. Bright acidity keeps it energized." *Cellar Selection* —KO (3/2021)
98 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"With a history stretching back to the mid-16th century, Conti Costanti is one of the founding estates of the Brunello di Montalcino denomination, run by Andrea Costanti since 1983. He follows up his gorgeously seductive 2015 with a stunningly refined and gracious 2016. Savoury earthy notes are accompanied by nuanced dried florals, citrus peel and pure red berries. It reaches profound depths on the palate where compact, ripe and dusty tannins promise a long cellaring life. It's so seamlessly put together that it's almost a shame to try teasing it apart." - Michaela Morris (3/21/2021)
97 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"This red features a superb balance between ripe cherry, raspberry and currant fruit and savory elements of juniper and thyme. Earth and mineral accents add detail, and this has everything in the right proportions for a long life ahead. Best from 2024 through 2045. 6,000 cases made, 1,265 cases imported." - BS (6/30/2021)
96 Points - Vinous Media:
"There’s a sensuality to Costanti's 2016 Brunello di Montalcino. It’s something about the way it draws you in and warms the soul. Its bouquet straddles both the light and dark sides of Sangiovese, rising up with alluring flowery perfumes, cedar dust and crushed cherry, yet then swaying toward rich brown spices and clove. The textures are velvety-smooth and elegant, ushering in a dense core of fleshy red berry fruits, which leave a coating of crystalline minerals and fine tannins in their wake. Though structured and aching for a stay in the cellar, you can’t help but pour another glass of this simply spellbinding Brunello. While in need of three to five years in the cellar for optimal enjoyment, the 2016 is absolutely worth checking in on today." —EG (11/2020)