Italy · Montalcino

Conti Costanti

Conti Costanti farms twelve hectares of galestro hillside above Montalcino and makes Brunello from a family whose Sangiovese was exhibited under that name in Siena in 1870. Andrea Costanti has run the estate since 1983, working with enologist Vittorio Fiore on a range that moves from Rosso through the barrel-selected Vermiglio to Brunello and a Riserva made only in strong vintages.

The producer

Conti Costanti sits at Colle al Matrichese on the northern side of the Montalcino hill, where the altitude runs from 310 to 400 metres and the soil is Cretaceous galestro: stony, calcium-rich, and thin enough to keep vines working hard. The Costantis are a Sienese family with documented roots in the fifteenth century and a comital title granted in 1711. The estate's connection to the Brunello name is not retrospective. In August 1870, Tito Costanti brought two Sangiovese wines from Montalcino to the provincial exhibition in Siena and labelled both of them Brunello, including a five-year-old bottle from the 1865 harvest at fourteen degrees of alcohol.

Andrea Costanti took over the estate in 1983, then in his early twenties, and has kept its twelve hectares unchanged while building its reputation through cellar control rather than expansion. He works with enologist Vittorio Fiore. Fermentation runs fourteen to twenty-one days on skins in stainless steel, and the Brunello ages in thirty-hectolitre Slavonian-oak casks alongside five-hectolitre barriques. The Rosso and the barrel-selected Vermiglio age in smaller Allier-oak barriques. The Brunello needs years before it opens fully: firm tannin from the galestro, high acidity from the altitude, and dark fruit that takes time to settle.

Known for

Brunello di Montalcino, Vermiglio (barrel-selected Rosso)

Notable facts

The story

The 1870 Exhibition

In August 1870, Tito Costanti arrived at the provincial exhibition in Siena with two bottles of Sangiovese from Montalcino, and called both of them Brunello. The older wine was from the 1865 harvest, five years in the making and at fourteen degrees of alcohol. The younger was a single year old. Presenting them side by side was a deliberate act: Tito and a handful of other Montalcino growers were making a public case that the Sangiovese grown on their hills was a distinct type and that the wines it produced deserved a name of their own. The 1870 exhibition was one of the stages where that case was put. The family that stood behind those two bottles has been farming the same galestro hill above Montalcino ever since.

From the atlas

Conti Costanti

At A Glance

Estate: Conti Costanti Location: Colle al Matrichese, Montalcino, Siena, Tuscany Grape: Sangiovese (locally Brunello) Main wines: Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, Vermiglio, Brunello Riserva Vineyards: 12 hectares, 310 to 400 metres altitude Soils: Cretaceous galestro Harvest: Early October Winemaker: Andrea Costanti with enologist Vittorio Fiore

The Producer

Conti Costanti farms twelve hectares of galestro hillside above the town of Montalcino in southern Tuscany and makes Brunello from a Sangiovese clone whose family first exhibited under that name in 1870. The Costantis are a Sienese family with documented roots in the fifteenth century, and their comital title dates to 1711. The estate is compact and has stayed that way: Andrea Costanti took over Colle al Matrichese in 1983, when he was in his early twenties, and built its reputation without enlarging its footprint.

Andrea is self-taught, and his approach combines a traditionalist's respect for large-format oak and long maceration with a willingness to use smaller barriques for the lighter wines in the range. He works with enologist Vittorio Fiore. The result across four decades has been a producer that stays close to its hillside and lets the galestro and altitude carry the conversation.

Place

Montalcino is a hill town in the province of Siena, about forty kilometres south of Siena itself. The appellation of Brunello di Montalcino covers Sangiovese grown within the Montalcino commune and aged to the DOCG's requirements: a minimum of five years from harvest for the standard Brunello, six for the Riserva. The name Brunello refers not to a separate grape variety but to the local clone of Sangiovese grown on these hills.

Colle al Matrichese sits on the northern part of the Montalcino hill, where the aspect moderates ripening and the altitude keeps acidity higher than on the warmer southern slopes. The vineyards run from 310 to 400 metres above sea level. Northern Montalcino tends to produce Brunello that is firmer in its early years and slower to open than wine from the southern or southeastern slopes, which ripen earlier and more fully.

Soil And Site

Galestro is a friable, calcium-rich schist that dominates much of central Tuscany. At Colle al Matrichese, the geological layer is Cretaceous in origin, meaning it was formed roughly sixty-six to one hundred and forty-five million years ago from compressed marine sediment. The soil is poor in organic matter and rich in stony material. Vines in this kind of soil push their roots deep to find water and nutrients, which concentrates the fruit and keeps yields moderate without irrigation. The drainage is fast, which prevents waterlogging and keeps the vine under controlled stress through the growing season.

Story

The Costanti family's connection to Montalcino wine runs back at least to the late eighteenth century, when a family ancestor was digging into the rocky hillside near the estate and reportedly uncovered Etruscan remains. The first clearly documented Brunello moment comes from 1870, when Tito Costanti brought two wines to the provincial exhibition in Siena and called both of them Brunello. One was from the 1865 harvest, five years old and at fourteen degrees of alcohol. The other was just a year old. Tito was among the small group of Montalcino growers actively arguing, at that moment, that their Sangiovese was a distinct type and deserved its own name. The exhibition was one of the public stages for that argument.

The estate stayed in the family but remained commercially quiet for most of the twentieth century. Andrea Costanti inherited Colle al Matrichese in 1983 and began building its reputation systematically, keeping the twelve-hectare vineyard area unchanged and concentrating instead on farming quality and cellar control. Vinous, which covered the estate in depth in 2024, describes his development as combining traditionalism with an openness to progressive cellar choices. The range expanded modestly over the years to include Vermiglio, a barrel-selected Rosso bottled in small quantities and positioned deliberately between the standard Rosso and the Brunello.

Vineyards And Cellar

The twelve hectares of Sangiovese vines at Colle al Matrichese range from six to twenty-five years old. Three further hectares have been planted to Merlot and Cabernet, though neither appears in the main range. Harvest begins in early October, which is fairly standard for northern Montalcino at this altitude.

Fermentation takes place on the skins in stainless-steel vats for fourteen to twenty-one days, depending on the vintage. The length varies because Sangiovese needs time to give up its tannin, and in richer, riper years the extended contact extracts more fully. The stainless steel preserves fruit character and keeps the wine's acidity clean through fermentation.

For the Brunello, ageing moves into thirty-hectolitre Slavonian-oak casks, between three and fifteen years old, alongside five-hectolitre barriques. The larger the cask, the slower the oxygen exchange and the less oak flavour is imparted. Slavonian oak is less porous than French oak and gives the wine a more gradual development over years of ageing. The Rosso and Vermiglio spend their time in smaller 225 and 335-litre Allier-oak barriques with a medium toast, which adds a slight spice note and a softer, quicker integration of tannin.

Wines

The range moves in four steps from light and early-drinking to serious and age-worthy.

Rosso di Montalcino is Sangiovese from the younger or lighter parcels, aged in Allier barriques before release. It is lighter in body than the Brunello, with fresh cherry and violet character and enough acidity to carry it through three to five years from the vintage. It is the estate's quickest wine and the most immediately approachable.

Vermiglio is a barrel-selected Rosso: 100% Sangiovese from chosen parcels, held longer in oak than the standard Rosso. The 2019 was bottled in a run of 4,000 bottles. Structurally it sits between the Rosso and the Brunello, with darker cherry, spice, firmer tannin, and a dried-fruit note that comes from the extended barrel time. It is not a Brunello by appellation rules but reads like one in the glass.

Brunello di Montalcino is the main label: Sangiovese fermented in stainless steel, then aged in the dual-format oak programme. The 2020 carries concentrated dark fruit, firm tannin, bright acidity, and good cellaring potential. It is built for at least a decade of development and does not open fully in its first few years after release.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is made only in exceptional vintages, roughly three times per decade. It receives extended ageing beyond the standard Brunello, is released later, and is the estate's most concentrated and cellar-worthy bottle.

In The Glass

The Rosso opens with cherry, a light floral note, and a clean acid line. The body is medium, the tannin soft, and the finish is short but honest. It is not trying to be the Brunello; it is a Montalcino red for near-term drinking.

The Vermiglio adds depth and weight. The colour is darker, the fruit moves from fresh cherry into dried plum and spice, and the tannin is firmer and more persistent on the finish. The extra barrel time has given it more to say, and it holds better over a meal than the Rosso.

The Brunello is where the galestro and altitude come through most clearly. The wine rises from the glass with dried rose, dark cherry, and a mineral edge. In the mouth, the tannin is firm and grainy in its first years but not harsh. The acidity is high enough to keep the wine lively even against the fruit concentration, and the finish is long, slightly austere, and built for time. The oak is present but in the background; Slavonian casks over many years give the wine a slow oxidative development rather than a flavour overlay. A decade from the vintage is a reasonable place to start opening it.

A Bottle To Understand It

Brunello di Montalcino is the bottle to start with. The Rosso gives a lighter read on the estate's Sangiovese, and the Vermiglio is produced in quantities that make it genuinely difficult to source. The Brunello is where the galestro, the altitude, and the long maceration and Slavonian-oak ageing all work together in one glass. It is dark-fruited, firm-tannined, and high-acid, with a slow, dry finish. Buy the most recent vintage you can find, put it away for eight to ten years, and open it with food substantial enough to meet the tannin: roast lamb, aged pecorino, braised meat.

Anecdote

In August 1870, Tito Costanti arrived at the provincial exhibition in Siena with two bottles of Sangiovese from Montalcino, and called both of them Brunello. The older wine was from the 1865 harvest, five years in the making and at fourteen degrees of alcohol. The younger was a single year old. Presenting them side by side was a deliberate act: Tito and a handful of other Montalcino growers were making a public case, at that precise moment, that the Sangiovese grown on their hills was a distinct type and that the wines it produced deserved a name of their own. The 1870 exhibition was one of the stages where that case was put. The family that stood behind those two bottles has been farming the same galestro hill above Montalcino ever since.

Final Word

Conti Costanti is a small estate with a long attachment to the wine name it helped establish. The twelve hectares, the galestro, and the dual-oak ageing programme have not changed in shape across Andrea Costanti's four decades at the helm. The Brunello takes years to give what it has, but it gives it clearly and without noise.

Sources

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