Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2003 750ml

Wine Advocate #176 Apr 2008
Costanti’s 2003 Brunello di Montalcino is among the handful number of standouts in this vintage. The wine reveals lovely depth and purity. Fragrant aromatics meld seamlessly onto the palate, where layers of dark cherries, spices and toasted oak come to life in a very pretty expression of Sangiovese from Montalcino. There is plenty of volume and depth here to insure at least another decade of superb drinking. The 2003 Brunello saw malolactic fermentation in steel, after which it spent about 18 months in 350-liter French oak barrels followed by another roughly 18 months in 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018.

It was 1983 when a very young Andrea Costanti took over Colle a Matrichese, inheriting quite a large responsibility for one of the few distinguished labels of quality in Montalcino at the time.
The passing years have demonstrated an increasingly confident manifestation of total harmony among the characteristics of the land, the Brunello of these unique vineyards and Andrea Costanti's sensibility to wine and his encompassing idea of the experience and pleasure of wine.
In developing the aromatic variety of the wines as far as possible, he has aimed for an elegant and perfect bouquet. As a result, the vines have rewarded him with even richer aromas though grown at an altitude in excess of 400 meters with consequent extreme ranges in temperature.
This young wine-maker has aspired to produce long-lasting and complex wines which, by nature, need time to mature and are not easy to make.
Although he has a great respect for the Brunello tradition, he is continually looking to the future with his far-reaching innovations.
The age of the vines, their particular biotypes and the soil composition have also aided in rendering a rich and long-lasting wine.
The authenticity of these wines rises above the fleeting trends.

Meats, Beef and Venison