Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino 2021

Few estates can claim a deeper connection to Brunello's very origins than Conti Costanti. The family's presence in Tuscany dates to the mid-1500s, when they helped found the Republic of Siena, and it was Tito Costanti who, in 1869, first presented a bottle labelled simply "Brunello" — the family is widely credited with popularising the term itself. Count Emilio Costanti's decision to release Brunello commercially in the early 1960s, at a time when fewer than a dozen producers were making the wine at all, helped establish the reputation of the entire appellation during its formative years. Andrea Costanti, a geology graduate from the University of Siena, took over the estate in 1983 as a self-taught young winemaker and has since built it into one of Montalcino's most respected addresses, working alongside veteran consultant oenologist Vittorio Fiore. The twelve-hectare, fully organic vineyard sits southeast of Montalcino village at Colle al Matrichese, 310 to 400 metres, on unfertile, rocky galestro soil dedicated exclusively to Brunello. While many producers turned to French barriques to chase international tastes, Costanti held firm to tradition — the wine still ages entirely in large Slavonian oak casks, a decision that's paid off spectacularly in recent critical reception; the 2019 vintage received three simultaneous perfect 100-point scores, from Kerin O'Keefe, Decanter's Michaela Morris, and Ian D'Agata.

The result is Brunello of remarkable purity and energy: chestnut forest, sweet earth, anise, and orange extract meet wild red berries, juicy cherry, and a touch of liquorice and tobacco, all carried by scintillating acidity and long, polished tannins. It's elegant rather than muscular, with real mineral drive and a finish that lingers with genuine finesse — critics repeatedly single out Costanti for combining old-school structure with a lightness of touch rare in the appellation.