Winemaker Notes
Decant at least an hour beforehand and pair with rich, structured dishes, red meat, game, seasoned cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
There's finesse and beauty to this wine with plum and berry character, shaved chocolate and hints of almonds. Full and super fine. Gorgeous.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wraps around the palate with gorgeous depth. Plums, smoke, licorice, tobacco and mocha all develop in the glass. The 2007 gives the impression of being shaped a little more by the oak because of its voluptuous texture. A huge, explosive finish rounds things out nicely. This is an especially bombastic, rich wine for Costanti, but it is also quite fine and loaded with personality. There is plenty of pedigree in the glass. Still, more often than not, I find myself gravitating towards the straight Brunello bottling here. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027.
Andrea Costanti has turned out a superb set of wines. What else is new? His 2008 Brunello is one of the wines of the vintage. Judging by the wines Costanti has in the cellar, there are plenty of exciting Brunellos in the pipeline as well. Costanti ages his Brunellos in a combination of cask and tonneau. Tasting the separate components illustrates the effect of oak on unfinished wines to a striking degree. Personally, I feel this fruit, from relatively high-altitude sites near the center of town, is best suited to more neutral oak. That is also true of the Riserva, a wine that, while outstanding, doesn-t seem to hit the same high notes as the straight bottling. I have long thought of Costanti as a top ten estate in Montalcino, but I am now convinced this property could belong in the top five.”
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a meaty and masculine wine that is ready to drink now or within the next two to three years. It shows tight yet savory aromas of cured meat and spice followed by dried berry and cassis. The tannins are silky and polished, and there’s a flash of extra power and flavor intensity on the finish.
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Wine Spectator
A breath of fresh cherry, raspberry, floral and spice flavors, this red is elegant, vibrant and harmonious. The firm tannins mesh with the ripe fruit and dense texture, leaving a lasting impression on the finish. Best from 2015 through 2032.
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.