Conti Costanti

The Costantis are an old Sienese family documented since the fifteenth century, appearing in Montalcino's history through the events of 1555 that led to the creation of the Republic of Siena on Ilcinese (Montalcino) land. The earliest evidence of the Sienese Costantis is a coat of arms belonging to Giovanni, a jurist and chancellor of the university, in 1506. In 1711, brothers Crescenzio and Carlo Costanti were given the hereditary title of Counts for their service to the Venetian Republic. Later generations turned from warfare to agriculture, cultivating land that stretched from Colle al Matrichese to Bibbiano castle and Sovignano, near Siena. Tito Costanti, a count and lawyer, was among the very first Montalcino producers to call the local red wine "Brunello," presenting a wine from the 1865 harvest at 14 degrees alcohol at the wine Exhibition of the Province of Siena in August 1870, alongside a one-year-old wine from the 1869 harvest that he also called Brunello. Emilio Costanti, a doctor and wine grower, is credited with the wine's greater commercialization: until the early 1960s it circulated mainly among close friends, known also at Rotary Club dinners in Pescara where Emilio was president, before slowly becoming more widely known in Italy and abroad.

• Sienese family documented since the fifteenth century; earliest evidence is a 1506 coat of arms; 1711 hereditary Count title granted to brothers Crescenzio and Carlo Costanti for service to the Venetian Republic
• Tito Costanti, count and lawyer, among the first to call Montalcino red wine "Brunello," presenting a wine from the 1865 harvest at the 1870 Siena provincial exhibition
• Emilio Costanti, doctor and wine grower, drove wider commercial release of the wine from the early 1960s, after decades in which it circulated mainly among friends and at Rotary Club dinners in Pescara

In 1983, a young Andrea Costanti took over Colle al Matrichese, inheriting responsibility for one of Montalcino's few distinguished labels of the era. Two independent accounts describe the succession: Empson & Co., the estate's importer, states that Emilio Costanti, having no children of his own, traced the sole living descendant of the ancient Sienese family and found Andrea, a fresh geology graduate from the University of Siena; a separate retailer profile similarly describes Andrea as fresh out of Siena University's geology department when he took over from his uncle, Count Emilio. Andrea has aimed to develop the wines' aromatic variety toward an elegant, perfect bouquet, with vines grown above 400 meters rewarding him with richer aromas despite the extreme temperature ranges at altitude. Today he crafts the wines alongside enologist Vittorio Fiore, and average yearly production across the range is about 60,000 bottles.

• 1983: Andrea Costanti, a geology graduate of the University of Siena, took over the estate from his uncle Count Emilio, described in two independent accounts as Emilio's sole surviving family descendant
• Andrea's geological training informs his focus on Colle al Matrichese's galestro soils, described by one retailer as Cretaceous-era shale marls of sand and calcareous rock with very little clay
• Andrea crafts the wines today with enologist Vittorio Fiore; average annual production across the range is about 60,000 bottles

The estate totals 25 hectares at Colle al Matrichese, in Montalcino: 12 hectares under vine, 4 hectares of olive groves, and the remainder fallow land and woodland. The vineyards sit at 310-400 meters above sea level, with exposure carefully selected for each plot. Vines are Sangiovese, known locally as Brunello, ranging from 6 to 25 years old, planted at densities of 3,333 to 5,500 vines per hectare; three hectares have recently been planted with Merlot and Cabernet. The land is organically poor but rich in lithoid components; geologically it is galestro from the Cretaceous era. Harvest usually begins in early October.

• 25 hectares total: 12 ha vineyard, 4 ha olive groves, remainder fallow and woodland; vineyards at 310-400m elevation with carefully selected exposures
• Sangiovese (locally "Brunello"), 6-25 years old, 3,333-5,500 vines per hectare; three hectares recently planted with Merlot and Cabernet
• Soil organically poor but rich in lithoid components, galestro of Cretaceous origin; harvest usually begins at the start of October

The current range comprises Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Vermiglio DOC, and two grappas distilled from Costanti Brunello marc. Brunello ferments with two weeks of maceration in stainless steel vats and is aged 48 months total: 18 months in tonneaux, 18 months in Slavonian oak wooden barrels, and 12 months in bottle. Rosso di Montalcino DOC (100% Sangiovese, called "Brunello" locally) ferments for 3 weeks in stainless steel and ages 12 months in Allier barriques of 3.50 hectoliters. Vermiglio DOC, also 100% Sangiovese, ferments on the skins in temperature-controlled stainless steel for about two weeks, then ages 12 months in French tonneaux of 5.0 hectoliters and 12 months in Slavonian oak casks of 30.0 hectoliters. The estate's cellar more broadly ages Brunello in 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks between 3 and 15 years old and in 5-hectoliter barriques, while younger wines age in three-year-old, 225- and 335-liter barriques of Allier oak with medium toast. Grappa di Brunello di Montalcino is drawn from Costanti Brunello marc within 48 hours of racking and distilled at Gioacchino Cannoni's artisan distillery in Paganico using an intermittent four-column low-grade steam system, at 42% alcohol; the Riserva grappa is aged a year in oak casks, then in apple, pear, and wild cherry wood barrels, with more than a year of further bottle aging, also at 42%.

• Brunello: two weeks maceration in stainless steel; 48 months total aging (18 tonneaux, 18 Slavonian oak, 12 bottle)
• Rosso di Montalcino DOC: 3-week stainless steel fermentation, 12 months in 3.50 hl Allier barriques; Vermiglio DOC: about 2-week skin fermentation, 12 months French tonneaux (5.0 hl) plus 12 months Slavonian oak (30.0 hl)
• Two grappas distilled from Costanti Brunello marc at Gioacchino Cannoni's distillery in Paganico, both bottled at 42% alcohol

The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino drew some of the strongest scores of Andrea Costanti's tenure. Kerin O'Keefe, formerly of Wine Enthusiast, awarded it 100 points, calling it "breathtakingly gorgeous" and describing aromas of blue flower, woodland berry, forest floor, and new leather leading into Marasca cherry, wild raspberry, blood orange, menthol, and baking spice, framed by firm, ultra-refined tannins and bright acidity. Decanter also scored the wine 100 points, with critic Michaela Morris (November 2023) calling it "gloriously sculpted... statuesque and stately." The same 2019 Brunello also received 96 points from Vinous (Eric Guido, December 2023) and 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Monica Larner, December 2023). In Decanter's wider 2019 Brunello di Montalcino report, Conti Costanti ranked among the vintage's most celebrated estates alongside Le Chiuse, Il Marroneto, and Canalicchio di Sopra; Andrea Costanti described the 2019 growing season to Decanter as beginning with a beautiful September of warm days, windy evenings, and cool nights. Earlier vintages have also scored well: the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva received 98 points from Kerin O'Keefe at Wine Enthusiast (May 2021), praised for its dark-skinned fruit, forest floor, rose, and wild mint aromas and a drinking window of 2023 through 2035.

• 2019 Brunello di Montalcino: 100 points (Kerin O'Keefe, formerly Wine Enthusiast), 100 points (Decanter, Michaela Morris, Nov 2023), 96 points (Vinous, Eric Guido, Dec 2023), 94 points (Wine Advocate, Monica Larner, Dec 2023)
• Decanter's 2019 Brunello report placed Conti Costanti among the vintage's most celebrated estates, alongside Le Chiuse, Il Marroneto, and Canalicchio di Sopra
• 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva: 98 points from Kerin O'Keefe (Wine Enthusiast, May 2021), suggested drinking window 2023-2035

Andrea Costanti's own vintage notes, published on the estate's site, record 2003 as the earliest harvest in Costanti history, beginning September 10 in a very hot, dry year that produced an important but not long-lived wine. By contrast, 1997 is recorded as a historic harvest, deemed the greatest of the twentieth century in Montalcino, earning a five-star Consorzio rating for its perfectly balanced, structured grapes from a mid-September harvest. Across styles, the estate's Sangiovese, planted on Colle al Matrichese's poor, lithoid galestro soils at up to 400-plus meters elevation, is directed by Andrea Costanti toward an elegant, aromatically rich bouquet even in a site marked by extreme temperature swings.

• 2003: earliest harvest in Costanti history, beginning September 10, a very hot and dry year not intended for long aging
• 1997: Consorzio-rated five stars, described by the estate as the greatest Montalcino harvest of the twentieth century
• House style directed toward aromatic elegance, shaped by Colle al Matrichese's poor, mineral-rich galestro soil and elevation above 400 meters in places

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.costanti.com/en/73/history, https://www.costanti.com/en/102/estate, https://www.costanti.com/en/prodotti/products. Secondary sources: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/2x-100pt--Breathtakingly-GORGEOUS--Costanti-Brunello--19.html?soid=1102573047231&aid=U0s49fxg6jc, https://www.empson.com/wine_producer/conti-costanti/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/brunello-di-montalcino-2019-full-report-522099/. Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.