Tasting Conti Costanti: Eight vintages compared

Michaela Morris tastes Conti Costanti at the Colle a Matrichese estate, including a 'captivating' 1975 vintage and a piece of history from 1967...

As soon as I arrive at the Colle a Matrichese estate, Andrea Costanti leads me up the tower with a bird’s eye view over northern Montalcino.

It’s a scorching afternoon at end of August, exacerbated by a hot breeze. This doesn’t seem to bother Costanti.

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Rather than talk about his own property, Costanti speaks passionately about the history of the region.

He has invited me for a tasting to mark the 50th anniversary of the Brunello di Montalcino denomination.Yet after the history lesson and a walk through the vineyard and cellar, Andrea excuses himself to take his son to soccer. ‘I prefer to let the wines speak for themselves.’

• See also: Top 10 Brunello producers

• See also: Brunello Riserva 2012: Report and top wines

He leaves me in the semi-shuttered tasting room which provides a welcome relief from the heat.

Despite the heavy antique furniture and paintings of his ancestors staring down at me, it is neither stuffy nor uncomfortable. Lending a timelessness is Costanti’s elegant wife, Angela, who has joined me.

As she pours the wines, she references the passing of the estate to nephew from great-uncle, saying, ‘in Andrea, Emilio found the right person to take over.’

Indeed the vertical that Andrea has prepared deftly demonstrates the legacy that he inherited in 1983, the aplomb with which he assumed it and his unwavering skill in crafting some of Montalcino’s finest Brunello year after year.

Tasting Conti Costanti wines: 1967 – 2013