2019 Conti Costanti Vermiglio Rosso di Montalcino Tuscany 750 ml

Brunello di Montalcino rules Tuscany.

But there’s a VERY small and lesser-known segment of Tuscan reds—some made by cult-level producers—that boast Brunello-like winemaking and quality but wear the relatively humble Rosso di Montalcino label. These bottles are sparred over by savvy collectors and consumers—and none epitomizes the category like Conti Costanti’s Vermiglio Rosso di Montalcino. 

“The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino Vermiglio is a bombshell beauty,” wrote Eric Guido of Vinous in a 94-point review that made this the #2 scoring 2019 Rosso, just behind Poggio di Sotto’s $100 version. “It embodies, without a doubt, the term ‘Baby Brunello.’”

Imagine yourself in Andrea Costanti’s shoes in the early 1980s. Freshly graduated from the University of Siena with a degree in geology, he was contacted one day by Count Emilio Costanti, a doctor and winegrower. The count had no children, and in looking for a successor to take over his winery he had traced the family genealogy to Andrea—the sole living descendant of the Costanti clan, which dates back to the 15th century.

Despite having zero background in wine, Andrea accepted the appointment as the count’s successor and threw himself into the family business. The first Costanti vintage had been released in 1865, but the wines remained hidden from the public for generations. Count Emilio was the first to commercialize the operation, and Andrea engineered the estate’s brilliant debut on the global market.

With a geologist’s eye, he could see that Costanti’s 24-acre vineyard, owned by the family for 200 years, was pure gold. At nearly 1,500 feet above sea level, the high-altitude site regularly produces some of the greatest Sangiovese grown in the region.