In 1870, Count Tito Costanti presented some wine made from his estate at a wine fair in Siena. Novelly, he referred to it under the name of the local Sangiovese clone. ‘Brunello’. He and his descendants continued to make this wine for family and friends. Nearly a hundred years later, in the 1960s, this wine finally became a commercial proposition; the finesse of the Costanti Brunello soon led to demand outstripping supply.
Jump forward another 70 years, and this most historic of Brunellos remains at the head of the pack. Andrea Costanti has been making the wine ever since he stepped into his uncle’s shoes, in 1983. His stated aim is the same as when he began. to keep Costanti among Montalcino’s very best producers. He has seven hectares of very well-placed vineyards, about a mile from Montalcino town centre. The vines grow in galestro soils, the flaky, mineral clay that defines the best Brunello vineyards. At an elevation of between 400-450 metres, they enjoy the sharp day-night temperature variation that brings the energy great wines need. (NT 26/01/26)
