Winemaker Notes
Bright ruby red in color, this wine has typical perfumes of Morello cherry, cinnamon and spice. On the palate, it has wonderful elegance and balance together with excellent concentration and silky tannins softened by cask and bottle ageing. Spiced red berry fruit characters are supported by an attractive savory character, with a hint of liquorice on the long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Immensely inviting, this opens with fragrant pipe tobacco, crushed berry, new leather and pressed violet aromas. On the palate, firm, refined tannins underpin juicy black cherry, raspberry and cinnamon flavors, while orange zest accents and an energizing mineral note lift the finish. It's beautifully balanced with bright acidity and will reward a bit of cellaring. Drink 2020–2032.
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Wine Spectator
Sweet cherry, licorice, leather and wild herb aromas and flavors converge on the dense structure of this red, which takes on a tannic edge as it plays out. There's plenty of fruit, and all the components seem to be in the right proportions. Best from 2021 through 2036.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Conti Costanti 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is a sure bet even if you are a Sangiovese novice. This is a richly extracted and beautifully layered red wine that imparts generous fruit tones supported by ample spice and tobacco. The effect is supple and round, especially with regards to the bouquet. I am perhaps a little more hesitant when it comes to the mouthfeel. I tend to notice the overripe fruit here and there is a sour cherry flavor that reinforces this impression. The wine is soft and supple in texture, so basically it offers a mixed bag of mostly positive vinous sensations that make it attractive for near-term consumption.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.