Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino 2010

The story of the Costanti family begins in the 15th century in Montalcino, with the family involved in major events during the creation of the Republic of Siena in 1555. This is genuinely one of the oldest wine families in all of Italy. The geology background is no coincidence. The Costanti estate sits on southeast-facing slopes at 440 metres above sea level — in the past considered the absolute limit for Sangiovese, but which in a period of global warming is transpiring to be a significant advantage. The soils are lean Cretaceous marls, and the wines have a similar intensity and savoury firmness to those of Costanti's neighbour Biondi Santi — the founding estate of Brunello itself.

Andrea Costanti's Brunellos are typically backward, dense and fairly impenetrable in their youth. They require bottle ageing to show at their finest, and when fully mature they are amongst the richest and most harmonious wines.