2010 Brunello di Montalcino

Are the 2010 Brunellos really all they are cracked up to be? After months of seeing and hearing all the hype Vinous readers wanted to see (and taste) for themselves. This recent dinner at Lincoln Ristorante gave attendees an early look at a dozen of the vintage’s best known and most highly regarded wines.

Andrea Costanti is at the top of his game. This is an utterly compelling range of wines. Both Rossos I tasted capture the essence of the house style and this site in the center of town, that judging by appearances alone and its location across the road from a gas station, gives absolutely no indication as to the magic in its soils. The Costanti Brunellos capture the essence of Sangiovese from Montalcino at its most refined. As good as the Brunellos are, the Costanti Rosso is every bit as pedigreed and delicious. The 2010 harvest took place between September 29 and October 4, pretty normal for this site and inline with vintages such as 2004. Costanti ages his Brunellos in a combination of 5Hl. French oak tonneaux and large Slavonian oak casks, with a total of around 15% new oak, most of which is used for the Riserva. In 2010, both the straight Brunello and the Riserva are fabulous, although I often prefer the straight bottling, which also is in my opinion one of the few Brunellos I would personally buy in every vintage with no hesitation. For more information on these reference-point wines, readers might enjoy this short video I shot with Andrea Costanti after our tasting.