Conti Costanti Rosso di Montalcino 2017 Vermiglio

Conti Costanti is one of the three "founding fathers" of Brunello di Montalcino and, with Barbi, the only one still owned by the same family. The barely 10ha vineyard, entirely biodynamic, is located just outside the town on the southern slope. Without much fuss, some of Montalcino's finest wines are made here year after year. After manual harvest, the grapes are fully de-risked and fermented in steel cuves. The Brunello matures in large 30hl and 5hl barrels for 3 years and then bottle for a further 2 years before release. The results are particularly great Brunello's in a complex, structured style , with a little more roundness that still makes them a little more accessible than those from Biondi-Santi.

The Rosso Vermiglio comes from the same vineyards, but receives a shorter ageing period and this too is a particularly fine, complex wine of a level that not so many Brunello's reach....

Finally, the Rosso comes from slightly sandier terroir and is aged for a year in 3-year-old 225l and 335l Allier oak barrels. It is a truly blissful wine and certainly one of the very finest Rossos. Can be drunk after just a few years.

Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "Andrea Costanti is at the very top of his game. The wines have never been better at a property that remains a reference point for Montalcino.... Andrea Costanti's straight Brunello remains one of the single best and most consistent wines in Montalcino."

Ian d'Agatha (Vinous): “Deep red. Ripe red cherry, sweet spices, licorice and leather notes are lifted by violet and quinine. Enters rich and round, then more austere in the middle, with hints of tar complementing the red cherry and underbrush flavors. Finishes long with beautiful acid-alcohol-tannin balance. This is really of the same quality level of a good Brunello. Vermiglio is the old name of the Rosso di Montalcino that was traditionally used by the Costanti household decades ago and that owner Andrea Costanti brought back to life with the 2014 vintage (in which he did not make his Brunello, opting instead to make a fuller-bodied Rosso aged in oak). This was aged one year in 500 liters tonneaux (only a minimal part of which are new) and one year in very large and old barrels. An outstanding result in a very hot year (the 2017 vintage is the earliest one in which Andrea picked grapes, beginning on September 11). As good as this is, it will benefit and improve further with another year in the cellar.” 92/100